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//features 22// wine critics
by carolyn evans-hammond Do we really need them?
26
26// Geddy by Tod Stewart
An exclusive interview with rock legend, Geddy Lee.
30// blanc
by Evan Saviolidis Defining the whites of Burgundy.
34// Eat, Drink, Live: Barolo by rosemary Mantini
The last in our 4 part series.
38// occasion
by Brenda macMillan A bottle of Port can define any holiday meal.
42// It’s not overs by Duncan Holmes
Recipes to help you enjoy your leftovers.
46// Riot
by Matthew sullivan Does Riesling really have its place in the heart of many connoisseurs?
49// four ingredients by Robert Hausner
Inside the 3000 year-old process of making Prosciutto di Parma.
34 49 tidingsmag.com
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//Ă la carte 7// Contributors 8// from the editor 11// Conversations Letters to the editor.
13// Simple Living Michael Volpatt
14
14// Umami Joanne Will
17// dying to get
carolyn Evans-hammond
19// Anything but
martinis
sheila swerling-puritt
21// Bon Vivant Peter Rockwell
52// Davine
Gurvinder Bhatia
55// Bouquet Garni Nancy Johnson
66// final word
55
//notes 50// the mav notes
54// the food notes
An appetizing selection of food-friendly faves.
58// The Buying Guide
Tony Aspler
Top wines from around the world scored.
Argentina // p. 59 Australia // p. 59 Austria // p. 59-60 Canada // p. 60-61 chile // p. 61-63 France // p. 63
66
Germany // p. 63 Greece // p. 63 Israel // p. 64 Italy // p. 64-65 New Zealand // p. 65 portugal // p. 65 South Africa // p. 65 spain // p. 65 United States // p. 65
4 // December 2011/January 2012
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//contributors
To reduce the impact of numerous wine and food sorties abroad, contributing editor Tod Stewart permanently lives in a different time zone. And while it helps with the jet lag, many complain that he seems somewhat distant.
//300
+ more on tidingsmag.com
Thanks for every-
thing
tidings would like to thank these sponsors for helping us mark our 300th issue.
the barcode brews it better
Wine critic and London-trained sommelier Carolyn Evans-Hammond is internationally-recognised for her witty and light approach to the topic. Her latest book, Good Better Best Wines, soared to bestseller in Canada and the US within weeks of release, and her work is catalogued on her website: www.wine-tribune.com.
Matthew Sullivan lives in Toronto. Besides writing about wine, he is a lawyer practicing public law, which helps pay the bar tab. His weekly wine column for Precedent Magazine can be found at www.lawandstyle.ca/shortcellar.
Next Month In Tidings Marching to the Marche We found a match to Chenin In a two-day layover in Paris, it must surely be the mark of a true foodie to spend almost all of one of those days soaking up the ambience — and all the rest of what the great food emporium has to offer — at La Grande Epicerie, 38 Rue de Sevres. But that was the choice for our peripatetic regular Duncan Holmes, who in the same recent plane, train and tube trip through Europe, managed to also find yummy tapas during a national strike in Spain, and everything but fish and chips in London.
How sweet the wine is Preparing beach food: a winter exposĂŠ An exclusive rum tasting Are you a nuts fiend? ... And So Much More
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//from the editor December 2011 January 2012 Issue # 300
the medium is the merlot
\\
Editor-in-chief
Aldo Parise editor@tidingsmag.com
I’m back. And we did it. Tidings has reached its 300th issue — a milestone for any magazine. Over 35 years of editorial work has passed through these pages. Countless hours, tireless editors, all with one goal … That goal may seem obvious. We’re fed a lot of communication theory while roaming the halls of university but I won’t bore you with that either. For us, the writers, designers and editors of Tidings, the medium is the merlot. Or the Cab Franc, Chenin, Reisling. It’s the foie gras, the potato purée, the steak cooked to perfection. It’s the letters we receive and the people we meet. Then what is the message? With a community of gourmets and winelovers this expansive it can be almost anything. Loving one another may sound a bit hokey but loving one another’s hobbies is exactly the right idea. At Tidings, we talk to each other about our favourite restaurants, dishes and wine producers. We look for the latest trends in kitchen accessories while researching for the hot, new winemaker. We are the über curious, looking for an audience to share our interests. And that audience most surely is you. So I’d like to thank you for the years of patronage. Some have been with the magazine since its humble beginnings — as a newsletter — while others are reading us for the first time. I’m glad to see you all in the pages of Tidings. I’d also like to thank all the writers and editors who have shared my editorial page in the last year. All have given you a brief insight into their ideas and thoughts revolving around the world of food and wine. It goes to show you that it takes a village … wait I’m mixing up my analogies. I’ll stop writing and give you over to them.
Contributing Editors
Gurvinder Bhatia, Tod Stewart Contributing food Editor
Nancy Johnson Contributing Lifestyle Editor
Rosemary Mantini Columnists
Tony Aspler, Peter Rockwell, Michael Volpatt, Joanne Will, Sheila Swerling-Puritt Contributors
Jonathan Smithe, Brenda McMillan, Sean Wood, Harry Hertscheg, Evan Saviolidis, Gilles Bois, Duncan Holmes, Matthew Sullivan, Robert Hausner, Carolyn Evans-Hammond Tasters
Tony Aspler, Rick VanSickle, Evan Saviolidis, Gilles Bois, Harry Hertscheg, Sean Wood, Jonathan Smithe and Gurvinder Bhatia COPY DESK
Lee Springer, Jennifer Croll web editor
Rosemary Mantini Creative by Paris Associates Art Direction
Aldo Parise Production
ww+Labs, cmyk design, studio karibü Illustrations & Photography
Matt Daley, Francesco Gallé, Push/Stop Studio, august photography Cover Design
studio karibü
Audited by
8 // December 2011/January 2012
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conversations\\
Kylix Media CFO
Lucy Rodrigues Circulation
circ@tidingsmag.com Accounts
Marilyn Barter accounts@tidingsmag.com Advertising Representation Dovetail Communications
National Account Executive Jacquie Rankin: jrankin@dvtail.com 9 05-886-6640 ext 304 Account Manager Dave Chauvin: dchauvin@dvtail.com 905-886-6640 ext. 323 www.tidingsmag.com www.tidingseats.com Now in our 38 th year Kylix Media, 5165 Sherbrooke St. West, Suite 414, Montreal, Quebec, H4A 1T6, Tel: 514.481.6606, Fax: 514.481.9699. Subscription Rates: Canada: $36 per year, $58 per 2 years, USA: $55 per year, Other: $75 per year. Single Copies: $5.95. Tidings, Canada’s Food & Wine Magazine, a registered trademark of Kylix Media, is published 8 times a year: (February/March, April, May/June, July/August, September, October, November, December/January). Opinions expressed in this magazine are not necessarily those of the publisher. © 2011 Kylix Media Inc. Printed in Canada. ISSN-0228-6157. Publications Mail Registration No. 40063855. Member of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business.
Re: “There Was Music Everywhere”. It’s been a while since I visited Italy, and this article reminded me what a magical place it is. Although Venice isn’t my favourite Italian city, the way Mr Bhatia described Sandro’s full-of-life excitement took me right back to those wonderful days I spent there. I have no doubt that I’ll make a return visit soon. In the meantime, I’m enjoying Mr Bhatia’s wine recommendations!
... I must admit that I didn’t know the Douro produced dry reds as well ...
Rob West, Toronto
Like Evan Saviolidis (“Douro Daze”), I, too, absolutely love Port. I’ve been known to pair it with anything I happen to be eating. But, I must admit that I didn’t know the Douro produced dry reds as well. T. Sewell, email
Sicily’s wine country is truly enchanting. My husband and I had the opportunity a few years back to holiday at a winery. We were there in June, and there wasn’t much for us to do. Nonetheless, we still felt like we were taking part in the winemaking process! Swimming in the sea offered the perfect fix for the scorching heat. The light and refreshing salads paired well with a glass of Moscato di Pantelleria. Pam Forrest, Vancouver
Tidings uses 10% post-consumer recycled fibres
We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Canada Periodical Fund (CPF) for our publishing activities.
I always look forward to the Mav Wine and Spirit Awards. It’s a great tool I use to help me track down and taste the best that all the different producers have to offer. Your team of tasters must have a great time tasting all of the entries! Lynn French, email
Material chosen for publication may be edited for clarity and fit. Please e-mail your comments and questions to editor@tidingsmag.com.
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simple living
by michael volpatt
//one braise at a time
Wintertime on the shore is absolutely amazing. Strolling the beach on a cold and super quiet, sunny day is very peaceful and something everyone should take the time to do. During my long walks on the beach my mind always gravitates toward food: “What shall we eat this evening?” I often ask myself. With the winter upon us my friends and I are spending lots of time in the kitchen cooking “hearty” meals. So for a recent dinner party I wanted to create something very rich that would stick to our ribs. I absolutely love the flavours of the Mediterranean and decided that I would go with a braised lamb. Lamb can be scary for some people, so I always make sure to pre-order and chat with the butcher about where the meat is from, when it was butchered and how long, if at all, it was frozen. All of these elements can greatly affect the gaminess of the meat. The longer the time from butchering to plate the more likely your cut will have a gamey flavour. Since I had been experimenting with grilling leg of lamb all summer I opted to braise this one in tomatoes, chicken broth, cumin and cinnamon. The result was flavourful, hearty and also very well received. We served this dish with caramelized onions and fennel, and a curried couscous salad. 1 leg of lamb about 6 to 8 pounds (ask your butcher to cut the leg into stewing meat and make sure he gives you the bone) 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
8 cloves of garlic, crushed 1 tbsp each of kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper 1 large can of crushed tomatoes (I like the San Marzano variety) 2 cups of chicken broth 1 cup of dry white wine 2 tbsp cinnamon 2 tbsp cumin
1. Preheat the oven to 300˚F. 2. Toss the meat with the salt and pepper, being sure to coat the pieces well. Set aside.
3. Place a roasting pan on the stove on medium
heat and add the olive oil. Toss in the meat and cook until browned on all sides. You may have to periodically remove the liquid from the pan. Do so, but do not throw away, reserve for later. 4. Once the meat has browned remove from the stovetop and add in the rest of the ingredients. Mix well, cover with foil and place in the preheated oven. 5. Let cook for 2 1/2 hours. Pull from the oven and test the meat with a fork. If it pulls apart and all of the ingredients are melded together, then your stew is ready. If not, place back in the oven covered for another hour. 6. When the dish is done, taste and if necessary season with salt and pepper or more cumin and cinnamon if you like a stronger flavour. …… Serve with a rich Syrah blend or Cabernet.
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Umami
by Joanne Will
//my favourite winter dish
While we speak, Stuart McLean is knocking back a banana, berry, kale, and flaxseed smoothie. I suggest that he must be on a health kick, and I am swiftly corrected. “This isn’t healthy,” he says. “It’s aiming for health. Besides,” he adds, “you can’t even taste the kale.” Since writing the award-winning Welcome Home: Travels in Smalltown Canada in 1992 and creating the Vinyl Cafe radio program over 17 years ago, McLean has spent his share of time on the road, where making healthy culinary choices can be a struggle. “These days, I just eat the way I like to eat, which turns out to be the stuff that’s good for me. I’m not drawn to junk anymore, which is partly taste, and partly training,” he says. This is the season of the annual Vinyl Cafe Christmas concert tour, and the time of year when McLean’s fictional character Dave cooked his now-infamous turkey. I want to know if Canada’s best-loved storyteller has a favourite seasonal dish. “I love roasted vegetables: beets and Brussels sprouts, parsnips, potatoes, carrots and onions. It’s a great dish for so many reasons. First off, I love roasting vegetables because it involves my favourite cooking utensil — parchment paper. It means a no-cleanup meal. You put the parchment paper down in your roasting pan, and when you’ve finished roasting the vegetables you peel it off and throw it out, and put the roasting tin back on the shelf without washing it. It’s fabulous,” he says. McLean recommends peeling the vegetables so that, once again, you have less to wash. Then, chop them into cubes. The onions, he says, are best sliced into wedges. Place the chopped vegetables in a bowl, drizzle them with as much olive oil as you like (though a tablespoon will do), a bit of salt, and toss them with your hands.
14 // December 2011/January 2012
“If you have a heavy earthenware bowl it makes it even more fun.” he says. “I have a really nice Le Creuset, and it pleases me every time I use it. It’s a big bowl, and you don’t get to use big bowls very often. Loading it up with vegetables is like arranging flowers — all the beautiful colours. And because you’re working with root vegetables, and a knife on a chopping block, and a ceramic bowl, you start feeling more like a French peasant than a suburban North American. Suddenly you’re in some basement in France, or the hills of Tuscany. And then what do you do? You bring out the old, blackened roasting tin. It feels as though you’re about to put it in a brick oven, and at this point you stop and pour yourself a glass of wine because you can’t stand it anymore. And even though you don’t need it, you go and put on a white apron, because you’re so wrapped up in the process,” he says. Here comes McLean’s favourite part: line the bottom of your roasting tin with parchment paper. Dump in the vegetables and cook them slowly, at about 325˚F. Add the onions when you think the rest of the vegetables are half-done. He figures this will be around the 20-minute mark. When they taste good, they’re ready. “Every once in a while, you have to do two things: take a sip of wine, and stir the vegetables. But more important that you sip on the wine. As long as you sip long enough, everything will turn out alright,” says McLean. McLean serves his roasted vegetables with a little dish of flaked sea salt, like Maldon, “so you have to reach in and use your fingers.” If he wants to get fancy, he might drizzle them with balsamic vinegar. “But really,” he says, “just a few flakes of salt and you’ve got a dish people are going to notice and that lasts for days. Two or three days later you’re heating these things up and they’re still fabulous.”
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dying to get
by carolyn Evans-hammiond
//gifted
LE MAITRE D’ & SOMMELIER
Purveyors of fine foods
Once again we find ourselves enmeshed in the holiday season, that very special time of year when we join with our loved ones in sharing centuries-old traditions such as trying to find a parking space at the mall. In my family, we traditionally do this by driving around the lot until we see a shopper emerge from the mall, then follow her — in very much the same spirit as the three wise men, who 2,000 years ago followed a star, week after week, until it led them to a parking space. Dave Barry, Pulitzer Prize-winning American author and columnist, wrote this, not me. But we all know exactly what he means. I don’t like malls. I don’t like big box stores. And crowds are never my thing unless they’re comprised of beautiful people in cocktail attire holding stemware. A bit of cool jazz in the distance. Maybe a statuesque waitress sashaying through the gathering with a tray of pretty things to amuse my bouche. No, I like villages and boutiques. Little strips of shops punctuated by cafes and places to stop for a glass of wine and plate of cheese. Sure, goods cost more, so I buy less. In the spirit of happy holidays, a friend of mine’s dad used to Christmas shop by heading to his favourite shops and buying everything he happened to like. Then, he would go home and decide who on his list would get what. Marvellous. It has been about 20 years since I heard that story, but it stuck with me. It captures the true spirit of gift giving. And every year, I’ve said I’ll try it. But this year, I’m going to — in story form.
Yalumba Bush Vine Grenache 2009, Barossa and Eden Valleys, Australia ($20)
I love the easy-drinking quality of this wine — from its soft, stewed cherry nose, to the smooth, dense, red-berry palate underpinned by a warm, meaty quality. And that hint of strawberry-rhubarb pie on the finish creates a note of summertime nostalgia. Not your usual Aussie fruit-bomb — much more elegance and finesse. I would give this wine to the one on my list who says s/he hates Australian wine.
Zenato Valpolicella Superiore 2009, Veneto, Italy ($15)
This undervalued wine swirls with dark chocolate, black cherry and leather flavours. It’s a mouthful of hedonistic flair wrapped up in that classical Italian style that’s all savoury and Old World. Sublime for the price. Something for the Europhile on the list. Or the pizza lover.
Peter Lehmann Layers 2009, Barossa, Australia ($18)
Cassis, cherry, blueberry, coffee, cocoa, tobacco, mint, white pepper — it’s all here and then some. Stunningly good value. Complex with great purity of fruit. A full-throttle wine for the Aussie wine lover looking for sunshine in a glass.
Riedel Champagne flutes ($15 to $90 per glass, ranging from the entry-level stem to the mouth blown sommelier series)
This fine crystal stemware will not only improve any glass of sparkling, it will probably make the recipient buy more bubbly. Perfect for the pessimist or scrooge on my list. That’s enough shopping for today. Off to settle back with a glass …
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anything but Martinis
by sheila swerling-puritt
//twinkle
I love the holiday season. From late November to January, folks entertain (and are entertained) at a seriously speeded-up pace. At this time of year, office parties pop up like mushrooms after a rain. We remember that it’s time to have the neighbours over, and maybe help organize a block party. And of course, we participate in lovely dinners with close friends and family. It’s important to prepare yourself for the stress of the season. It’s good stress, but stress nonetheless. My most important piece of advice is plan ahead! You don’t want to spend all your time behind the bar or in the kitchen because you left too much too late and didn’t arrange for some help with it all. You want to enjoy yourself, and your guests want to enjoy your company. That’s hard to do when you’re running around putting out brush fires. A big part of advance planning is making sure you have small delicious nibbles to soak up the alcohol your guests will consume. Have some non-alcoholic drinks and a pot of coffee handy. Make sure you have plenty of ice in the freezer. Your early winter cocktails should be warmly satisfying as well as refreshing. Hot Toddies with sweet spices like cloves, ginger, nutmeg and cinnamon will help set the tone. At your seasonal parties, cocktails made with sparkling wine tell your guests that the celebrations have begun. Here are a few examples of mixed drinks to help you with those celebrations. Drink them responsibly, and if you drink, bring along a designated driver.
campari fizz (great for brunch)
1
oz Campari tsp sugar Sparkling wine Pour the Campari into a champagne flute, add sugar stir to dissolve. Top up with the bubbles.
1/4
+ Visit tidingsmag.com/drinks/ for more drink recipes
twinkle
2 oz vodka 1 oz Bottega Spumante Dash of St Germain elderflower Pour into a shaker with ice. Mix well. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Add a lemon twist to garnish.
heather 81 3/4 parts lavender honey 6
mint leaves part hot water 2 parts Grey Goose vodka 1/2 part Drambuie In a cocktail shaker combine honey, hot water and 6 mint leaves. Muddle well. Add ice, vodka and Drambuie. Shake well and strain into a rocks glass filled with ice. Garnish with mint leaves and a honeycomb.
1/2
binta breeze 1
oz Appleton V/X Rum oz ruby port oz apricot brandy oz grenadine 1 dried apricot Pour the rum, ruby port, apricot brandy and grenadine into a shaker filled with ice. Shake well. Add ice cubes to a rocks glass and strain ingredients from shaker into the glass. Garnish with a skewered dried apricot.
1/2 1/2 1/4
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bon vivant
Illustration: Matt Daley/Shinypliers.com
by peter rockwell
//tough gifts & turkey matches
I want to give my picky father-in-law a cutting edge Christmas gift. What liquid do you suggest? You mean to say that a bottle of hooch and a trinket with a company logo stamped on it — all jammed into a cardboard box with a see-through front panel — doesn’t show enough love for the old guy? Look, I’m pretty much in agreement that for an industry that prides itself on being innovative, the typical fare created by liquor makers for the all important gift-giving season is too often lowbrow at its worst and boring at its best. I mean, how many cheap pairs of branded glasses does one person need? I’m sorry to say that if you’re looking for something really cutting edge you’re going to have to roll up your sleeves and make it yourself. My father-in-law enjoys a glass of scotch or two, so over the years I’ve introduced him to a bottle of something new each Xmas and supplemented it with a classy add-on of my choosing. One year it was a guidebook to whisky, another it was proper tasting glasses and last time round, a decanter with which he can show off his tipple when his booze-loving buddies pop over. If wine is your FIL’s thing put together a small group of likeminded bottles. Maybe it’s a series made with the same grape varietal, maybe you can get your hands on a selection of the same wine from a few different vintages, or simply a set of vino from up-and-coming countries. Nothing beats a homemade gift and this is really where the staff at your local liquor store can step up and help you put together something truly unique. It’s just us this Christmas. With no one else to accommodate, what’s an “outside the box” wine we can match with our roast turkey? Ah, there’s nothing I love better than a holiday sans relatives. To paraphrase Mickey Rourke from the movie Barfly: “I don’t
+ Ask your questions at bonvivant@tidingsmag.com
dislike my family; I just seem to feel better when they’re not around.” You are right though; when you’ve only got yourself to satisfy anything goes: especially when it comes to finding a liquid partner for some full-bodied roast poultry. Though generally quite accommodating, I’ve always found the traditional marriage of Tom turkey with either a lightly oaked New World Chardonnay and/or a plump and deep-fruited Pinot Noir to be near perfection when I’m hacking up the big bird with my less than subtle carving skills. But you asked for something unconventional. Well, my favourite alternative red for turkey is a Spanish Rioja. One designated Crianza (which means it’s been aged at least two years, one of which has to be in oak) makes for a nice cherry-berry partner for this white meat, while one designated Reserva (which means it’s been aged for at least a minimum of three years, one of which has to be in oak) cranks up that cherry expression and ups the ante on the cedar woodiness. For a new wave white try something made with the peachy and spicy Gewürztraminer grape. Though French versions tend to be drier (which works best with the meat when in my mouth) most German and New World styles sway to the slightly sweeter. Feeling particularly daring? Swing back to the red side and look to France’s northern Rhône. That’s where Syrah (a.k.a. Shiraz) traces its roots and I’m quite partial to the peppery black fruit that oozes from the region’s wines with turkey and all the trimmings. Just remember that when pairing wines with a big holiday feast the main course isn’t necessarily the flavour profile of the whole meal. All those side dishes (both sweet and savoury) often speak louder than the star of the show, so you’ve got licence to experiment.
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Wine Critics: ¶
Do We Really Need Them? ¶ by carolyn evans¶
Hell, no. Of course we don’t need wine critics. We can all shop for a 20-buck Chardonnay, grab the one with the prettiest label, and hope for the best. Who needs to know which one might be the best value for money? We can keep spending the $20 until we find a bottle we like, right? Side-by-side comparisons? Bah. Just grab and go. And if the one you liked best last week was decent, grab it again. Why shoot for the stars?
Hammond
22 // December 2011/January 2012
illustrations: FRancesco Gallé, www.francescogalle.com
Mediocrity is not in my vocabulary. And when we’re talking wine, it doesn’t have to be in yours either. The wine market is too competitive for that nonsense. But you do need to know which bottles to buy. Of that, I’m certain. The point? It’s not a level playing field. It’s just as easy to find a horrific $14 red or white as it is to find a perfectly satisfying pour. And I assure you, a lot of wine being sold by the truckload is terrible. And I don’t mean I just don’t personally fancy them. I’m talking out of balance, stalky, hollow, dirty-tasting, or otherwise disgusting. And sadly, even more expensive wines are guilty of these offenses. The other point? To argue that the wine-drinking public doesn’t need wine critics is blatantly inane, ostrich-like behaviour. Fact is, wine criticism is a properly valuable service and will remain so until producers find a way for wine lovers to taste every bottle before they buy.
Frankly, there is a huge thirst for wine criticism. I think imbibing minds want to know what wines offer the best value for money. A lot of wine enthusiasts recognize that wine critics aren’t there to drive up prices of Bordeaux classed growths, Californian cult favourites, and otherwise unsung gems — they’re there to be surrogate drinkers. Guides to take you gingerly by the hand and lead you through places such as the minefield of Burgundy, where it’s so easy to waste dough on a disappointing drop. But wine criticism is a funny thing. Unlike any other form of review you can think of — restaurant, film, art, music, television, fashion ... you get the idea — wine criticism is almost never scathing. Rarely do blatantly negative writeups about wine appear in magazines and newspapers (or elsewhere for that matter.) It’s all fine and dandy to hear about the good, better, and best bottles, but what about the filthy, putrid and vomitous? When was the last time you read about what not to drink?
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The argument goes: wine writers only have so much space per column, so why waste it on what to avoid? Readers only want recommendations. Really? When I posed the question to my wine-loving Facebook friends, most were dying to know about bottled wastes of money. Quite rightly, too. Okay, that deliciously well-written and irreverent blog called Vinography has a section titled, “What Not to Buy.” And I pipe up and blog the topic now and then. But few of us critics really dish the dirt. My feeling is, if I’m sent swamp water to taste, a few things are probably going on that I’m not entirely cool with. First off,
critics taste broadly so you can drink well. And if you view it as a cooperative exercise, you can work with the critic to lift your vinous pleasure to higher levels. What am I talking about? Well, if you at least know what grape varieties you prefer, the wine regions or styles that suit you, and how much you’re willing to spend on a particular purchase, a wine critic can fine tune your selection, taking you closer to personal nirvana than you might get with a random shot in the dark. If you’re looking for a $100 bottle for your birthday and love Cabernet Sauvignon from the Napa Valley, it might interest you to know that Cakebread Cellars made a stupendous one in 2006 that had me (and a lot of other critics) swooning. It’s supple, but
Therein lies the value of wine criticism — the ability to lead you by the hand toward a better life. If not a better life, then certainly better bottles. the winemaker clearly doesn’t taste widely enough to know how bad his or her wine really is — or just doesn’t care. Secondly, whoever is sending me the sample is clearly underestimating my judgment and technical tasting skills. And thirdly, there’s a certain smugness at play; the obvious thinking behind sending bottles of hogwash to media is, there’s no risk because critics don’t write up bad wines much. Surprise. I do. After my blog entry titled “What Not to Drink” appeared earlier this year, some well-meaning Facebook friends cautioned me that negative reviews might create reluctance to send me more samples, but I can live with that. If samples ever did dry up, there are more advertised trade tastings than I could ever manage to fit into my work week. So back to the original question. Do we need wine critics? Or more precisely, do you need them? No. You don’t. But you might like to know what wine is pretty damn good from someone whose taste you trust. Basically, wine
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with tremendous depth, power and finesse. It offers the complexity and opulence of classed growth Bordeaux in a good year — think Mouton Rothschild 2000 — at a snip of the price. Glorious wine well worth knowing about.
You trust your lawyer to take care of your legal affairs, your banker to manage your investments, and your plastic surgeon to keep you looking 20 at 50 — at least from behind — with that Brazilian Butt Lift, so why wouldn’t you trust a wine critic? If not for you, at least for the family and friends with whom you’re sharing your wine. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been invited to a home and been poured a glass of something horrid. It’s not a good look on the host or hostess at all. And of course, I can only imagine what is served when non-wine professionals go to parties. Therein lies the value of wine criticism — the ability to lead you by the hand toward a better life. If not a better life, then certainly better bottles.
No. Not all critics are created equally. So how do you find a wine critic to trust? Easy. Think of a go-to wine. A favourite. One you really enjoy. Then Google it and read several critics’ reviews of that bottle. The critic whose review most closely resembles your view on the wine is the keeper. And to test the decision, taste several other wines s/he recommends — obviously in a style you tend to like — and see if you like them. If not, ditch the critic and repeat the process until you find one whose tastes mirror yours. Sure, to some degree, technical tasting is objective. It is a learned discipline like any other. Professional tasters taste for typicity, balance, cleanliness and all the rest; but a certain amount of personal taste does play into the process. Wine ratings will always have a margin of subjectivity even the most rigorous master of wine cannot deny. I know one particular critic in Toronto, for instance, who hates Carménère — the flagship red grape variety of Chile. Should I ever need a recommendation for a stellar Carménère, he would be the last guy I’d turn to despite the fact I think his tasting skills and knowledge of wine are among the best in this country. Suffice it to say, fit is important. Who do I think are some of the best critics in the world? Who would I turn to for a recommendation, should the need ever arise? Andrew Jefford. Eric Asimov. Tim Atkin. Hugh Johnson. Margaret Rand. I love to read these critics’ material. Which brings me to another point.
All of the critics I named not only have good palates and taste broadly, they write well. They draw me in and keep me reading. Despite being hugely knowledgeable, their writing never feels like they’re saying, “I’m drinking this and, of course, you aren’t. I’m visiting this region, and, ahem, I guess you’re not.” Instead, their writing feels like I’m physically with them and, through sensitive tasting notes, they’re offering me a peek, sniff and taste of whatever they might be drinking. Consider, for instance, Andrew Jefford’s take on Burgundy, which appeared in Issue 30 of The World of Fine Wine: “Great Burgundy is white wine country, extensive and intermittent. For Chardonnay, that descent from northern Chablis all the way down to Mâcon’s last white vines, tiptoeing into St Amour, is a chronicle. The wine world offers few comparable examples of a single grape variety teased through so many nuances and variations — from Petit Chablis at its sharpest and sourest, through to the puffy pillows of PouillyFuissé, which loll about invitingly like dolls made of honeycomb. Somewhere in the middle stands Corton-Charlemagne, beautiful yet thin-lipped, sculpted yet silent — the enigmas at the heart of the journey.” If that doesn’t make me hightail it to the Burgundy aisle of my local wine shop, I’m not sure what would. Do we really need wine critics? No. But they’re sure fun to have around. •
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“Scotch. For fast, effective relief.” – Geddy Lee Geddy Lee doesn’t need to give interviews. As bassist/vocal-
ist/keyboardist for Rush — one of the world’s premier musical acts and easily Canada’s top rock export today — Lee and his bandmates (Alex Lifeson and Neil Peart on guitar and drums, respectively) need publicity about as much as Carlos Slim needs money. So I was somewhat gobsmacked when he agreed to give me a moment of his very indemand time. That the “moment” became two hours was even more unexpected (but very much appreciated). Courteous, polite and apparently ego-free, Lee is hardly the stereotypical “rock star.” He is, however, the quintessential wine lover. So, over a large platter of oysters and a bottle of Austrian Riesling (which he provided) we talked about wine, food, his association with the charitable organization, Grapes for Humanity, memorable moments, life on the road and plans for the future. We also talked turkey … or rather, chicken. To say the boys have a rather bent sense of humour is an understatement. In fact, Lee tours with three industrial-sized chicken rotisseries. They take the place of what used to be a wall of amplifiers stage left to counterbalance the, well, wall of amplifiers used by Lifeson stage right. Or at least he used to. Tidings: So I have to ask you about the chickens. I mean, you tour with these massive rotisseries … Geddy Lee: Not anymore. I’ve retired the chickens; I’ve moved on.
What are we into now? I’m into sausages right now. I’ve got some steampunk sausage manufacturing going on. It’s pretty fun.
GL: Well, my crew is responsible for dealing with the whims and vagaries of my backline inventions. Not always with a smile. No, they get into the whole spirit of it, and they take good care of me.
T:
GL:
T: When you’re touring with this stuff, do you have a single supplier or do you just call up the local purveyors?
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I think the live lobster tanks are gonna freak them out a bit when you try that one. GL: Live lobster tanks … that’s a good idea. I never thought of that. I haven’t had anyone upset yet about all the meat I’ve been using, T:
but maybe I can avoid that by having some seafood in the mix. Maybe a move to seafood is in the offing! Good idea. Lobster tanks…. I’m always curious about how people get into wine, when they actually think, “Hey, this stuff is worth looking into.” Was there a particular defining moment for you? GL: It was a bit of an evolution. I would say in the late 1970s and early ’80s Alex got into wine quite heavily. At the time he was into Gewürztraminer and Californian wines quite a lot, and Rhône wines. He was very passionate about it. I had always enjoyed wine but I didn’t have the bug for it yet. Sometimes, as we were touring, promoters would give us gifts; they’d leave a bottle of Margaux or something in the dressing room. At the time I would just collect them and hold them for special occasions. Then I started reading about wine, and when you do this you get very thirsty. Quickly. So I started to get a bit of a bug and gradually got more into it. T:
+ A full transcript of this interview is available at tidingsmag.com/mavericks/
An Exclusive Interview by Tod Stewart
T: And before you knew it …
When I bought my current house about 15 years ago I made sure I put in a proper cellar, which has since turned into two proper cellars. I’m a collector by nature of all manner of things. So it’s a dangerous combination when you love wine and have that flaw in your personality that needs to hoard. But the great thing about being a collector, in my case, is being able to share my collection. And being associated with Grapes For Humanity allows me to share my wine within a more global perspective. GL:
T: How did you first get involved with Grapes For Humanity? GL: Tony Aspler called me just kinda out of the blue with the idea of raising money for charities via the organization’s events. I get approached by a lot of different charities but this one hit the right note for me. T: Does the money raised go to any one particular charity or do you sort of divvy it up?
My crew is responsible for dealing with the whims and vagaries of my backline inventions. Grapes For Humanity began as a project to assist landmine victims. We’d go into Cambodia, Honduras or wherever there were landmine victims and give the money we raised to the local people involved on the ground. They would then, for example, build a prosthetic clinic and train some of the victims to actually work in the clinic, so it would become selfsustaining. The nice thing about working with a smaller charity is that you can find a project, you can raise money for the project, you can see the money go to the project and you get that great feeling of accomplishment when you see the results. We just try and help people in need that are being overlooked by governments or who are just missing the big payout somehow. GL:
Let’s talk about your wine life on the road. I take it you bring your own stash? GL: Or we pick up wine along the way depending on how far we’re travelling. One of my day-off hobbies is to source a good wine store or good restaurant. The only thing I look forward to on my day off — ’cause I generally stay in my room sleeping and resting my voice — is going out to dinner. That’s my big day-off event. Also, because I’ve met so many great wine merchants around the world, I can call and say, “I’m coming into town, what do you have in your cellar?” I can pick up a good bottle and we’ll have it that night after the show. When we come off stage — Alex and I, because Neil’s on the road right away doing a sort of motorcycle journey — we more often than not stay at the venue and have our dinner at that time. You can’t eat too much after a three-hour show. It just doesn’t go down too well. T:
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Or stay down … Exactly. So I try to have a nice bottle of wine for Alex and I. The chef usually prepares some winefriendly food and we have our moment, wiping off the sweat and drinking a fine Burgundy. T:
GL:
T: Sounds like a good way to wind down. GL: It’s ridiculously civilized. T: Have you toured with or met any other musicians who share your passion for wine? GL: There are many, but I can think of two guys right off hand who got bitten by the bug and started their own wineries. There’s Maynard from the band Tool who has started a winery in Arizona (see Tidings September 2011). Also, Les Claypool from Primus is now making his own wine as well — Pinot Noir, I think, from his winery in Sonoma. T: Would you ever consider anything like that? GL: Definitely. I do have a little retirement plan in the back of my head: getting a place in the south of France and doing a métayage with a local winemaker. The idea of finding a local who needs access to a great vineyard and being able to purchase that vineyard and work out a deal with him would be a very positive event. T: Is there any wine region you’ve toured that has really caught your interest? GL: Well my family and I, for a number of years when I wasn’t touring, would rent a house in a different part of the south of France. I mean, to me, France is the pinnacle location for wine. My favourite wines are Burgundy and
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Rhône wines. But Burgundies are far and away my very favourite, so those regions hold a lot of magic for me. I think northern Italy is fantastic. And of course Germany is a fun challenge to try and understand. What’s wonderful about wine, for me, is that it creates a multifaceted fascination. You become fascinated with the wine which leads you to become fascinated with the region which turns you into a bit of geologist and geography freak. Then you start reading about the history of these regions. Then you get to know the
My wife is a fabulous cook ... So I end up being the cork-puller and raconteur, that’s my role. people of these regions. Then you learn about the history of the food of the region and how the wines developed to accommodate the food or vice versa. It’s a fantastic, multi-level trip. T: The music Rush writes and plays is musically complex and physically demanding. When it comes to wine, are you always after the complex and profound or can you enjoy simple stuff? GL: My favourite table wine at home is Beaujolais Cru, which is not an expensive wine. It’s a beautiful region and the wines are wonderful for everyday drinking.
Are there any regions or wines you’d like to explore more? GL: Hmmm, let’s see … well, I don’t have much of a feel for Brunello, I’m afraid. I love Barolo and Barbaresco and the Nebbiolo grape is one of my faves, but there are some wines of the world T:
that are still a mystery to me, and Brunello is one of those. I’d love to know more about that area and that wine ’cause I know people who are just freaks for Brunello. But every time I’ve gone there I haven’t got it. The great thing about wine, though, is that you’re always learning, right? T: Always. But I find it amazing, in the course of that learning, to see the level of complexity to which wine has been raised when the act of sharing a glass is such a basic, simple, social pleasure. GL: When we were kids we shared joints, now we share glasses, right? (laughs) It’s an evolution of that whole communal thing. And it can be very simple. My friends always ask me, “So when do you open a special bottle of wine?” I say whenever you open a good bottle it’s a special moment. Don’t save it for the special
On Grapes For Humanity: We just try and help people in need that are being overlooked by governments or who are just missing the big payout somehow.
moments, enjoy it with those who appreciate it. Don’t get me wrong, I love the formal tasting thing with a certain agenda, with perfect glassware and a certain structure — it’s the best way to learn. But there’s also the moment where you open a bottle with three people and pull out some bread and cheese and salami without really caring that someone might think, “You can’t have salami with that wine …” T:
At which point you say, “Watch me.” Exactly.
GL:
T: Speaking of wine and food, any standout moments in that area? GL: Well, there have been so many … I remember going to visit Grace Family Vineyard, and Dick Grace and his wife did a tasting with us. We were just sitting in the backyard and the aromas of the wine were the aromas of where we were — there was such a strong connection. Then they called up Bo Barrett over at Château Montelena and told him we were coming over. Bo joined
us for a lunch we picked up and we were drinking these great Cabernets with this really humble food, and it was a great afternoon. It was one of those situations that’s easy to romanticize, but we experienced it. T: Do you have any aspirations toward culinary greatness? GL: I’ve taken a few courses but I’m just pretty lazy. If I put my mind to making food I can do it, but I’d much rather be in the cellar pulling bottles and pouring wine. My wife is a fabulous cook and that helps a lot. So I end up being the corkpuller and raconteur, that’s my role. When I cook I drive my wife insane ’cause I’m so slow. She just wants to come in and get it all done. T: What does the future hold? You alluded to a retirement plan. GL: My retirement plan keeps getting pushed back and the band just keeps playing things by ear. What we’ve learned together, and over
the last 10 years in particular, is just how unpredictable life is. So when it’s good you just ride it. And at this point things are very good for us. I don’t think we’ve ever had an audience as big as we have now, or been as well received around the world. And I don’t think we’ve ever enjoyed playing as much as we do now; we are really having a lot of fun. We’re really lucky and we do really like what we do. And we like just hanging out with each other. People associate rock and roll with a particular lifespan that they wouldn’t attribute to, say, a painter or a writer. In rock and roll the clock seems to be always ticking and everyone seems to be waiting for you to run out of juice, declare you’re old age and fly the flag. But I think this is an out-dated way of looking at rock and roll that has largely been transcended now. It is now an art form as legitimate as every other art form, and those involved in the industry should be allowed to play until they are no longer creative. T: Finally, outside of wine, what other libations do you indulge in? GL: I love Scotch. Macallan, Johnny Walker Green and Blue … but I’m kinda all over the map. I like the really peaty ones and the richer ones. I find Scotch to be more medicinal. After a tough gig or a long exhausting day when I need fast effective relief, I have to have a scotch. •
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As the French legend goes, the Corton vineyard, which belonged to King Charlemagne (circa 775 AD), was originally planted with Pinot Noir. Due to excess consumption, his grey beard would become stained. At the behest (aka nagging) of his wife, he asked the Corton winemakers to grub up the Pinot Noir vines and plant Chardonnay in their place. From that point forward, his whiskers were stained no more. But there is no factual basis to the story. Pinot Noir’s first appearance was in the 1370s, and Chardonnay appeared a little later on, in the Middle Ages. Nonetheless, it shows the Burgundian reverence for the emerald grape. Today, Chardonnay is the most planted grape in Burgundy, accounting for 46 per cent of all plantings. But contrary to popular belief, it is not the only white. Aligoté, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Beurot (Gris) and the mysterious Sacy grape are all grown. Of all the cohorts, Aligoté is probably the most famous, as it is the base for Kir. Just add crème de cassis, another Burgundian specialty, and you have concocted the famed aperitif. Burgundy is also famous (or infamous, depending on your point of view) for its somewhat convoluted four-tiered AOC system. The best way to understand these is to draw analogy to the Russian wooden nesting dolls (babushka) — as you open one, a smaller one appears inside. Theoretically, as you go smaller and smaller, the quality increases. Why do I say theoretically? Two reasons! The first is vintage variation. Inclement weather is part of the growing cycle. But when a warm and dry year comes to pass, there is no denying the allure of great white Burgundy. Second is producer. A top producer will make a top wine regardless of appellation level or vintage conditions, and a lesser producer will do a disservice to the very best of grapes. Entry-level wines are classified as Regional (and Sub-Regional). Grapes are generally sourced from the flat land and are labelled as Bourgogne or the name of the sub region. Appellation laws allow the name of the grape to be printed on the label at this level. A step up in quality are the village (communal) wines. All grapes must be sourced from within the boundaries of the stated village. In most cases, these locales are at the bottom or top of Burgundy’s famed slopes. 73 per cent of all wines at this level are Chardonnay. The best of Burgundy are the famed single vineyards — Premier and Grand Cru, which are located within the villages. A 1er Cru will state both the name of the vineyard as well as the name of the village. The pinnacle, Grand Cru, will just state the name of the vineyard. These vineyards are located on mid slope, benefiting from maximum sun exposure, drainage and air circulation.
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by evan saviolidis
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chablis
Chablis is easily the most recognizable name of Burgundy, but in global wine circles, it is also a name that is the most bastardized. Many bulk wines are labelled with the generic Chablis name. Real Chablis has pinned its entire fortunes on geology — the famed Kimmiridgian limestone soil, that is, chalk (aka crushed sea shells), where it grows. The soil is what imparts the famed minerality/ steeliness to the wine. The apogee of Chablis is the 100th hectare of Grand Cru, located on perfect southwest-facing slopes above the town itself. The allure of the famed seven vineyards — Vaudésir, Valmur, Bougros, Les Preuses, Le Clos, Blanchots and Grenouilles — is undeniable. Prices have increased steadily over the past decade, so those wishing to purchase with affordability in mind might look at the 40 Premier Crus. Personal favourites include Fourchaume, Vaillons, Montée de Tonerre and Montmains.
côte d’or
The golden hillside is the heartland and pinnacle of great Burgundy. It is divided into two parts: the Côte de Nuits and the Côte de Beaune. A ridge of limestone is at the basis of these fabled wines. The Côte de Nuits is primarily red wine land, but there are a few villages that make small amounts of white. Fixin and Marsannay make village-level wines. The village of Vougeot makes 1er Cru whites, and contrary to popular belief, there is indeed a white Grand Cru. It is the famed two hectare parcel of Musigny Blanc, which is owned by Domaine Comte Georges de Vogüé. The Côte de Beaune is where blue chip whites come to life. In the north, within the village of Aloxe-Corton (and parts of Ladoix-Serrigny and Pernand-Vergelesses) is the famed hill of Corton, which produces the famed white Grand Crus of Corton and Corton-Charlemagne. Ladoix and Pernand also produce good value white wines at the village and 1er Cru level. The village of Beaune is the capital for the Burgundy wine trade and home to the famed Hospices de Beaune auction. The best whites are 1er Cru, with Clos des Mouches being the most renowned.
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Continue south on the Route Nationale 74, and the road leads to Meurasault, which is renowned for producing the richest and oakiest of all white Burgundies. If you like the New World style, this is your drop of juice. Further south still are the fabled twin villages for white wine, Puligny and Chassagne-Montrachet, known for their profile of mineral, fruit and judicious oak. Within these two villages are the five renowned Grand Crus, all with the name Montrachet appended. Whereas CriotsBâtard-Montrachet is firmly entrenched within the boundary of Chassagne, so are Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet and Chevalier-Montrachet with Puligny. The vineyards of Le Montrachet and BâtardMontrachet straddle both. The Premier Crus from both are also worthy of praise. To the west of the twin villages is St-Aubin, a star on the rise. This village produces whites that share similar attributes with their more famous eastern neighbours, but at a price that offers more affordability.
côte chalonnaise
Warmer than its northern cousins, the Côte Chalonnaise sub region is famous for the commune of Bouzeron, one that Aligoté has fallen in love with. It is the only village AOC authorized for said grape. Other villages that produce small amounts of Chardonnay-based whites are Rully, Mercurey and Givry.
mâconnais
With a geology of limestone and clay, this is a land dedicated to Chardonnay. Basic Macon wine, for $15, offers apple and citrus flavoured wines of good value. More famous and slightly more expensive are the villages, all ordained with the first name Pouilly: Fuissé, Vinzelles, Loché. Recent additions at the village level include Viré-Clessé and St-Véran, and like their more famous confrères, offer more depth, more new oak and good richness, and a price tag half that of Côte de Beaune.
beaujolais
Even though not technically part of Burgundy, for administrative purposes, Beaujolais is usually lumped in with it, because of proximity. Only one per cent of Beau-
jolais’ production is white, mostly from the northern locales, which abut the Mâconnais, sharing the famed limestone soil. The price is right here.
92 Albert Bichot Domaine Long-Depaquit La Moutonne Chablis Grand Cru 2008 ($75)
La Moutonne is the 8th unofficial Grand Cru of Chablis, located between Vaudésir and Les Preuses. This wine from the 2.3 ha monopoly of Bichot truly impresses. The pale straw green colour leads into a nose of huge minerals, straw, baked apple, stone fruit and fresh bread. Full bodied, the palate is chock full of powerful minerals, giving a salty tang on the superb expanse. Drink from 2014 to 2025.
92 Domaine Louis Latour Corton-Charlemagne 2009 ($175)
Still extremely youthful, this wine requires another couple of years in bottle to come together. A bouquet of smoky minerals, pear, apple, spice and white peaches meet up with an extremely spicy palate. There is a long finish, to say the least. Drink from 2015 until 2021.
90 Domaine Saumaize-Michel Pouilly-Fuisse La Roche 2009 ($30)
This is the best Pouilly-Fuisse I have ever tasted! From steep slopes, this full-bodied Chardonnay is endowed with a perfume of apples, liquorice, spice, minerals and pear. The same is found on the taste buds. The creamy texture and great length make for a delicious bottling. I also had the chance to try the 1991 side by side with this wine at the winery. At 20 years of age, it was still alive and kicking. Truly impressive!
90 Domaine Louis Latour Corton-Charlemagne 2006 ($165)
Even though it is now 5 years old, this wine is still very much youthful, a testament to the ageability of great Burgundy. A bouquet of minerals, toast, vanilla, cream, liquorice and apple leads
into a creamy mouthful of apples and nuts. Excellent length, it should be imbibed over the next decade.
90 Domaine Roux Père et Fils Chassagne-Montrachet les Chaumes 1er Cru 2009 ($38.95) A 1er cru for under $40! Buy it as is; it is a no-brainer. Ripe, it is medium bodied with vanilla, apple, citrus, minerals and stone fruit qualities. The length is excellent and it is ready to go.
90 Vincent Girardin Meursault Les Grand Charrons 2008 ($42.95)
This elegant Meursault is all about flowers, smoke, baked apples, pear, stone fruit and vanilla. Acids are firm, so hold until 2013 and drink until 2018.
89 Domaine de La Soufrandière Mâcon-Vinzelles Clos Grand-Père 2009 ($39.55) The biodynamic wine is made from
vines that average 50 years of age (some are even 100 years), and without any oak. Apples, white flowers, vanilla, liquorice and minerals are layered on a full bodied and creamy frame. Added nuances of apricot and spice make their appearance on the finale.
88 Blason de Bourgogne Saint-Véran 2009 ($20.95)
88 Domaine de La Soufrandière PouillyVinzelles 2009 ($38.25)
87 Domaine de La Vougeraie Côte de Beaune Les Pierres Blanches 2008 ($35.50)
Apple, mineral, spice and white peach mesh into a rich and creamy texture. There is very good length, with a mineral core right down the middle. 5 years of life ahead.
88 Domaine Roux Père et Fils Saint-Aubin Les Cortons 1er Cru 2009 ($41.90) Mineral, vanilla, apple and spice come together on both the palate and nose. It is mid weight, with very good length and refreshing acidity. Drink now to 2015.
Light yellow colour, this SV delivers the goods in the form of melon, citrus, spice, banana and tropical fruits. Fine persistency and a certain softness make for a wine that is ready to drink.
This Côte de Beaune has been amped up with the use of new oak. Hazelnut, toast, apple, pear and spice are built on a light- to medium-bodied frame. Acid borders on nervy, so pick some rich creamy dishes to pair it with.
85 Louis Latour Bourgogne Chardonnay 2009 ($16.45) Here is a basic Bourgogne, upfront and accessible. Smoky minerals, apple and citrus work in tandem on the light-bodied frame. Drink now. •
Wine List Awards Competition Opens December 1, 2011 Closes January 16, 2 012 Public Tickets On Sale January 10, 2012 Trade Tickets On Sale January 17, 2012 More Information PlayhouseWinefest.com
Regional Theme
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Global Focus Cabernet(s)
February 28, 2012
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34 // December 2011/January 2012 Ro M sem an a b ti ry y n i
::::eat:::::
Bread. Better yet, breadsticks. There’s a story that the king who ruled the court of Savoy in the 1600s was so concerned about a guest whose stomach contorted at the mere thought of bread that he ordered his bakers to produce something infinitely more digestible. And so were born grissini. Long, thin and crunchy, you’ll find the best in Barolo. Grissini bear little resemblance to the boxed breadsticks available in Canadian supermarkets. The artisan-made type has a natural sweetness that pairs perfectly well with prosciutto and a slice of Testun Occelli di Barolo cheese. Bet you can’t stop at just one; I certainly can’t. Make your way down to where Via Roma intersects with Via Gioberti. There, with its green awnings and potted plants is Panetteria Fratelli Cravero. The Cravero family’s hand-stretched breadsticks measuring about 30 centimeters long (sometimes even longer!) are legendary. The grissini come in nine different flavours: those with olives or nuts make me swoon. Don’t leave the Panetteria without purchasing a box of crumbly, sweet Paste Di Meliga. These cornmeal cookies are made from a centuries-old recipe that has since been listed under the Slow Food Protection Act. You’ll find few restaurants featuring tourist menus here. In fact, you’re likely to find restaurants featuring no menu at all. Whatever’s simmering in the pot is what’s on offer. Beef braised in Barolo, wild boar, or rabbit over polenta are local specialties worth the trip up the hill into town. While you’re there indulge, as the Italians do, in Tajarin, the Alba-Style Tagliatelle dish served in a butter and Parmigiano sauce adorned with shaved white truffles and paired with a glass of Barolo wine, of course.
tajarin
eat with the locals >L ocanda nel Borgo Antico, 4 Via Boschetti > La Cantinetta, 33 Via Roma > Ristorante del Buon Padre, 30 Via delle Viole
500 g sifted flour 4 egg yolks A pinch of salt 2 eggs 1 tbsp oil 1. Knead the ingredients. Dip a clean white cloth in cold water, wring it and wrap the dough. Let the dough stand for about two hours, then knead it again. Roll it out with a rolling pin so as to get very thin sheets. Let the sheets stand for about 10 minutes, then dust them with a little corn meal. 2. Roll up the sheets and cut them into very thin strips to form noodles. Place the noodles loose on a tray lined with a floured cloth and leave them, approximately 1 to 2 hours, to dry out a bit. 3. Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil. Drop the pasta into the water and cook for 3 to 4 minutes.
Recipe courtesy of Daniela Di Giovanni of Ente Turismo
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::drink::: From the top of Barolo Castle, vineyards upon vineyards planted with Nebbiolo are visible as far as the eye can see. Something else is in the air. It’s nothing that can be seen or touched. There’s an aura of mystique that surrounds and envelops this whole area. It’s something that’s inextricably linked to this mythic wine named after the eponymous town. The king of wines and the wine of kings was not always so: Barolo was a sweet wine thanks to Nebbiolo’s high sugar content. But Barolo underwent a pretty miraculous transformation in the 1840s at the hands of royalty. The Marquise Juliette Colbert-Falletti, together with star French winemaker, Louis Oudart, introduced the refined modern winemaking techniques already in vogue in France. The result was a dry and complex wine bursting with aromas and flavours of chocolate, plum and spice that immediately captivated the hearts of European royalty. Follow the steps down to the depths of Barolo Castle to see the place where the magic happened. The cellars have since been turned into an enoteca (wine bar). Sidle up to the bar to sample Barolo from the neighbouring wineries. Hoping for a souvenir? Shelves displaying countless bottles available for sale stretch the length of the long hall. The Cioccolato alla Corte del Barolo Chinato (Chocolate in the court of Barolo Chinato) is something you’re sure not to find anywhere else on your travels. This event, taking place in March, is an opportunity to sample exquisite Italian chocolate. If that’s not enough, the festival also gives visitors the chance to pair chocolate with wine. To top it all off, you’ll have a chance to try a drink called Barolo Chinato (Barolo with quinine!). Originally, the mixture was a way to make the malaria medicine easier to swallow. Now, enjoying it as a digestif is all the rage.
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try these
Barolo runs the gamut in price point depending on supply, demand, reputation of producer, scores awarded by critics, whether the planets are aligned … Regardless, all Barolo is DOCG and adheres to strict production guidelines. No matter which one you choose, you’re still getting a great wine. Look for balanced acidity, notable tannins, and a full-bodied mouthfeel with aromas of tar, roses, leather, tobacco and truffles.
>C asetta Barolo 2005 ($24.95) > Fontanafredda Barolo 2004 ($29.95) > Marchesi Di Barolo Barolo 2005 ($34.95) > Paolo Conterno Ginestra Barolo 2005 ($62.95) > Ceretto Bricco Rocche Barolo 2004 ($229)
::::::live:::::: Talk about great expectations. How can such a small town possibly live up to the greatness of the wine? I guess it’s easy when history takes the wheel. Barolo should be a tourist trap. Yet, this town of approximately 750 citizens seems to respect and promote its traditions as much as it revels in the popularity of its wine. You’ll need to drive into Barolo from Alba, but the town’s entrance is as far as your car will take you. Unless you’re driving a cute new Fiat 500, you’ll find that the streets are much too narrow for most cars. Park it at the entrance of the town and explore on foot. Barolo is a place of stories. There seems to be a museum on every corner. So, pack a pair of comfy shoes and a serious hunger for local history and culture. The town can be walked in about an hour, including the time it takes to stop in at the many shops that feature local artisans’ work. Hop on a bike and follow the path-
ways that take you down the hill and through the vineyards. That’s the best way to get a close-up look at the grapes that have made this town famous. The most popular thing to do in Barolo, and the reason why most people visit, is to taste the wine, of course. Come in September for the Barolo Wine Festival. You can sample upwards of 60 Barolos over the course of the three-day event and enjoy live music and dancing to boot. Above all, don’t forget your camera. The ancient architecture and panoramic views from the top are worth the steep climb into town. •
what to do
>W iMu (Wine Museum), Barolo Castle > Museo di Cavatappi (Corkscrew Museum), 4 Piazza Castello > Fiera Internazionale del Tartufo Bianco d’Alba (throughout October and November), 3 Piazza Medford, Alba
where to stay
>L ocanda della Posta di Barolo, 4 Piazza Municipio > Cà San Ponzio, 7 Via Rittane > Hotel Barolo, 2 Via Lomondo
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Occasio 38 // December 2011/January 2012
on by brenda mcmillan
Son: “It’s almost Christmas. Remember last year?” Daughter 1: “We had to pull the corks from three bottles of 1985 Graham’s Vintage Port to get one that wasn’t corked.” Son: “Nanny got into the brownies before the bisque was served.” Daughter 2: “And that sausage stuffing.” In my family, it is food and wine that mark fun occasions. We gather to celebrate everything from holidays and birthdays to small personal achievements (a yellow belt in karate warrants a cake), and though the camaraderie of the group is the focus, we always do our best partying with fork and glass. Most families are just like ours. Port, Portugal’s most famous dessert wine, is often associated with our celebratory meals, and so is not top-ofmind for everyday dining — but with its impressive range of styles, it should be. Dry white Ports, for example, are excellent aperitifs, but also make refreshing cocktails with soda and lemon. Also on the drinks tray is pretty pink Port. Sweet but not shy, it is excellent as a mixer or on the rocks with lemon. Bring out a cheeseboard and you’ll be amazed. LBV (Late Bottled Vintage) and Vintage are perfect complements to Stilton (and other blues), as well as other, stronger cheeses. 10 and 20 Year Old Tawnies are yummy with cheeses that show a touch of nuttiness, as well as soft and/or creamy offerings. Who knew?
Port also excels at the end of a meal, and is reputed to help digestion. Desserts with nuts and/or dried fruits are sublime with Tawnies, as is anything with a brown sugar/caramel base. Bring on butter tarts, crème brûlée and chocolate chip pecan cookies. Just make sure the sweetness level of the dessert is less than, or equal to, that of the Port. Tawnies are elegant and don’t like to compete. Although LBV lacks the complexity and depth of long-cellared Vintage Port, it is wholly satisfying as an everyday substitute. A glass after a meal is a lovely dessert all on its own, but it also serves as a companion to chocolate (in all its forms) as well as rich creamy desserts like trifle with raspberries, and white chocolate mousse with cherry compote. Of course, Vintage also likes to cuddle up to these desserts, but is happy to be the star of the meal — or the night. So, while we’ll continue to open special Ports on special occasions, I’ll always keep others on hand. Sometimes the only thing to celebrate after a long a day is getting home at the end of it. That’s good enough for me. Cheers!
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Poças 10 Year Old Tawny ($26)
Sandeman 20 Year Old Tawny ($40)
I first raised a glass of this wine with George Sandeman, 15 years ago. Amber-mahogany, this elixir tastes of vanilla-laced caramel, dried apricots and toasted pecans with a hint of spice. Delicious. Drink it on its own and hide the bottle.
Offley 30 Year Old Tawny ($80)
Golden amber with hints of pale green on the rim, it smells and tastes like caramel and toasty nuts with a hint of warm tobacco leaf. Not an overly sweet style, it is meant to be savoured. I profess an affinity for the Offley brand after sailing in the June regatta on the Douro River in their barco rabelo. We lost, but their wine’s a winner.
Ramos Pinto 1924 Colheita (priceless)
A rare gem, this Port is amazingly complex, intense, viscous and delicious. A dark, rich, toasted nut colour with gold-amber edges, it tastes of dried fruit and sweet golden caramel. Fantastic, complex and incredibly heady, it is round and honey-smooth. Flavours go on and on. Not for sale, as Ramos Pinto uses it in their tawny blends and I tasted it in their lab. Best ever.
40 // December 2011/January 2012
Poças is a Portuguese family-owned company. Their rusty-ruby Tawny is a beguiling blend of red fruit and toasty nut aromas and flavours. Made from the usual Douro grapes: Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca, Tinta Roriz, Tinta Barroca and Tinto Cão. Serve cool with dessert. Very satisfying.
Warre’s Otima 20 Year Old Tawny ($40)
Jewelled burnt sienna hues remind me of faded red roses ringed with gold. It smells of dried figs, spicy heat and honeycomb. Flavours explode, then linger. Look for the taste of dark caramel just before it burns, plus mouth-filling dried figs, coffee, nuts and mellow cigar. A gentleman — of just the right age.
Ramos Pinto Fine White ($18)
Sipping this lovely dry white Port while watching the sun take its final bow behind the high vineyards of Quinta do Bom Retiro is a fond memory. Served cool with lightly roasted and salted almonds from quinta (wine estate) trees, it was a perfect aperitif. Expect a golden yellow hue, tropical fruit aromas and fresh fruity flavours. Made from (white) Malvasia Fina and Codega grapes and aged three years in casks.
Portal Extra Dry White Porto ($17)
A bronzy-lemon colour, this beauty delivers pears and honeysuckle aromas that are very enchanting. With soft acidity and generous nectarine flavours, the apple juice finish lasts and lasts. Fornos de Algodes, a creamy Portuguese goats’ milk cheese, was a perfect companion.
DECANTUS Wine aeration at its best!
Niepoort White Lagrima ($17)
A dessert wine, and sweet but far from cloying, this pale golden amber Port offers honey and soft candied orange peel flavours with stone fruit nuances and a slight toasted pecan character mid palate. Yummy with vanilla-cashew cookies.
Quinta do Castelinho Ruby ($13) From one of the oldest quintas in the Douro, this Port spent a few years in a large vat before being bottled. A brickruby colour, cherry jam and Douro dust scents herald strong ripe-plum flavours with a hint of tobacco leaf. Although it has a good vanilla finish, it is a tad hot. A brash, direct, no-nonsense broad. She rocks.
Niepoort 2007 LBV ($17)
Its dark ruby velvet colour and intense red-fruit compote nose make promises delivered in jammy black currant, cherry and berry flavours. As smooth and elegant as David Niven, it is also satisfying and rich. Consider it to be dessert or pair it with anything chocolate. Everyday. Buy it if you can find it.
Decants wine in seconds Allows wine to react with air to reveal its fullest flavour
Dow’s 2005 LBV ($17)
This is an inky, rich ruby with a garnet rim that sports jammy red fruit aromas with that seductive overlay of Douro dust. Less sweet than other LBVs, this elegant and refined Port pleases with leather and ripe blueberry jam flavours and a long spicy finish. A lady, start to finish. Sip her with dark chocolate.
Available at many fine wineries and specialty wine stores, contact us for a location near you.
Grahams 1985 Vintage ($120)
Only one bottle of the three I had in my cellar was not corked, but it was a corker. Much enjoyed at a recent family celebration, it was dark and mysterious in the glass with lush, intense plum and red fruit flavours, a touch of spice, a good acidity to counter the sweetness, and tannins that were friendly but firm enough to keep the wine kicking for years. Velvet in a glass. We savoured it with cheeses and sighs. •
For additional information, please visit www.decantus.ca Distributed in Western Canada by Valentinos International Wholesaling Inc. www.valentinosintl.com
Untitled-10 1
and in Ontario by Stems Canada Inc. www.stemscanada.com
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2/23/11 8:35 AM
by Duncan Holmes
I can’t remember whether my bachelor friend, Jeremy, could cook or if he simply chose not to. Observing him for a couple of years, he seemed to simply muddle on through with the usual bachelor pickings, and along the way, scrounging what else he needed, from sympathetic friends and neighbours. Which is why, for his health, and because we enjoyed his quirky company, we invited him over for Sunday night dinners on any number of occasions. Nothing special, mind you. He ate what we ate. From coldweather soups and stews to snappy summer salads cobbled from the bounty of our garden; from stuffed tortillas to crusty, savoury tourtière; roasts paired with the lees of some good reds. Beggars and mooching bachelors can’t be choosers. Sometimes, as may happen at your place, Sunday dinner was regurg … — wrong word — prepared in whole or in part from the remains of Saturday’s dinner, or, perish the thought, even Friday’s lunch! In tough times, or simply because why not, that’s the way it happens. I mention this because one Sunday, as Jeremy was into his second or third mouthful of the main course, he paused, looked at me, and plaintively asked: “… Is this new food?” In an instant, I realized that despite the disguises I had concocted to make the meal appear otherwise, the game was up. He had cleverly detected that we were actually dining on … leftovers! The “new” term stuck, and since then, with family, friends, or strangers hanging in for a meal, we’ve been quick to announce that what’s on the plate is indeed “new,” “partly new,” or possibly “none of the above.” Truth in advertising. It sets a nice tone to know what you’re eating. The trick with leftovers, of course, is to do such a good job
42 // December 2011/January 2012
freshening them up that you can fool all of the people every second time round. There are famed examples. Shepherd’s Pie, for instance, is unabashedly new. Yesterday’s mashed potatoes top the day-before’s oomphed, seasoned, and moistened ground-up roast. Add a fancy pattern with a fork and a pat or three of butter into the potatoes, bake and brown under the broiler, and voilà, new food! “Bubble and squeak” is a famous, some may say infamous, British breakfast take on yesterday’s veg. And so on. Like these high-profile faves, all kinds of individual leftovers can become the beginnings of completely “new” meals to delight your own Jeremys, family broods, or best foodie friends. Make no apologies. Like love, food is often more beautiful the second time around. And on the topic, think about the most mountainous bounty of all leftovers … Christmas! Much more than a tankful of soup fabricated from the forlorn remains of a bird, Christmas presents an opportunity for you to dig yourself out from the wrappings beneath the tree, and fashion all kinds of new foods from old. For the freezer, for romps on the slopes, for all of the rugged-up frolicking that will happen as you wait out the long, wintry week of wassailing for the promising victuals of the New Year. The turkey, of course, is a trove of treasures. Soup if you must. But also pies, à la king, sammies, wraps, and on and on. Google it and see. Close to two million responses in the flick of a gizzard. So is the Christmas ham, so are the veg, the nog. Not to mention the iconic cake as door stop, and ahem, the sprouts for the composter. In short order, as the unwanted gifts of the season find new forward-gifted owners and destinations, the excesses of Christmas foods can find “newness” in the originality of limitless culinary adventures.
Serves 6
The sweet potatoes, yams, or whatever you call them, seem to get bigger every time we buy them. There will be some left when Christmas dinner is done. An excellent start to a pie! This recipe has been modified a bit, but should work.
Pastry dough (See turkey pie recipe on page 45) 2-3 eggs 2 cups cooked sweet potatoes 1 ½ cups heavy cream ½ cup sugar ⅓ cup packed brown sugar 1 tsp cinnamon 1 tsp ground ginger ½ tsp ground nutmeg ¼ tsp ground cloves ½ tsp salt
eggnog muffins Eggnog is one of those seasonal things that invariably finds its way to the back of the fridge to await an uncertain future. On several occasions I have given it new life in a mix of muffins. This recipe is pretty well guaranteed to make eggnog palatable much later than you may have wished to face it as … eggnog.
2
¾ ½ 2 1 2
cups sifted flour tsp salt cup sugar tsp baking powder tbsp bran eggs
¼ ¾
cup melted butter cup eggnog 1 cup finely chopped pineapple ½ cup seedless raisins ½ cup dried cherries Grated orange rind
1. Sift the flour, salt, sugar and baking powder together. Mix in bran. 2. Beat the eggs in a separate bowl. Add the butter and eggnog to the eggs. Add the pineapple, raisins, cherries and orange rind.
1. Preheat oven to 425˚F. Line a 9-inch pan with the pie dough, weight the dough and bake the crust for 5 or so minutes, remove the pan and reduce the heat to 375˚F. 2. Whisk the eggs in a large bowl, then whisk in the sweet potato, the cream, and the remainder of the ingredients. 3. Warm the crust in the oven, then pour in the mix and bake for about 40 minutes or until firm. Cool completely and top each serving with whipped cream to serve.
3. Combine the wet and dry ingredients with a few swift strokes. Fill well-greased muffin tins about 2/3 full and bake 20 to 25 minutes in a 400˚F oven.
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Serves 6
golden christmas marmalade Every holiday season, we are swept along by the tide of buying of foods that we don’t really need. It’s simply tradition that when the cold winds blow, and the tree-lot attendants patiently await our order, we load up excessively on the Christmas compulsories. Nuts, eggnog, Ferrero Rochers, other chocolates — and case after case of mandarins from trees somewhere in the Orient that, like the new wave of Hallmark cards, are ready to be miraculously harvested as Christmas comes to the Western world. And there will always be some left over.
This will effectively make use of some of your Christmas ham, and the remains of that seasonal cheese tray. Again, like the turkey pies, same crust and same pie plates for freezing.
24 mandarin oranges Any other citrus, cranberries 10 cups sugar
Pastry dough (See various below) 1 ½ cups shredded Cheddar cheese 1 ½ cups chopped cooked ham 1 cup heavy cream 3 eggs ½ small onion, grated ⅛ tsp grated nutmeg ½ tsp salt Black pepper Chopped herbs
1. In a large pot, simmer the unpeeled fruit
1. Preheat oven to 375˚F, weight
until soft with an equal amount of water — about 45 minutes. Remove and retain the citrus skins, transfer the fruit to a cheesecloth bag, secure the tied bag to the pot and continue to simmer for another 30 or so minutes. 2. With a wooden spoon, squeeze the bag to remove juice from the fruit. Remove the bag from the pot and discard. 3. Add the sugar and boil, occasionally stirring, until the marmalade reaches jell point and “hangs” on a spoon. Be patient. 4. Finely julienne the skins and add to the mixture. Ladle hot into jars and seal.
44 // December 2011/January 2012
the dough in a 9-inch pie pan and bake about 5 minutes. 2. Place the pan onto a baking sheet and sprinkle with the cheese and ham. 3. Whisk the remaining ingredients thoroughly and pour over the cheese and ham. 4. Bake 30 to 40 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the quiche comes out clean. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.
Serves 6
There are many variations on this recipe. I “harvest” the bite-sized best bits of the bird and make the pies in aluminium pie plates with supplied lids. I bake them and freeze them, writing the instructions for re-heating on the lids. Mass production works well. Vary quantities depending on the size of your leftover turkey!
filling 4
tbsp butter
3 2
carrots, diced stalks celery, diced
½ cup flour
2 1 2 1½
cups frozen peas 2 cups milk or light medium onion, diced cream cups chicken stock Seasonings to taste lbs turkey meat
1. Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat; add the flour and
whisk until smooth. Increase the heat, add the vegetables, keep whisking, add the stock and meat, and cook another five or so minutes. Add the cream and simmer until cooked through; season to taste with salt, pepper and other tastes as you wish.
pastry 1 2
cup lard cups flour
1 1
tbsp vinegar egg
1
tbsp cold water
2. Mix the lard into the flour until it has the consistency of corn meal. Mix
the vinegar, egg and water together with a fork and add to the dry mixture. Bring together in a ball. Roll to match the size of your baking dishes. Line the dish(es) with pastry, add the turkey-vegetable mixture and cover with pastry. Bake in a preheated 400˚F oven about 45 minutes or until golden brown. Serve, or freeze covered with the lid supplied. To reheat, preheat oven to 300˚F, remove lid and bake for about 30 minutes.
One holiday leftover you’ll need to contend with will be one barely-touched bottle of rum, and a commercial mix of sugary flavours that, in combination with boiling water and a cinnamon stick, makes a rib-sticking hot rum. You may have had one during the season, because, again, it’s tradition. But like eggnog, for whatever reason, you’re unlikely to have two. The rum will be returned to the liquor cabinet, and the mix will go back into the cupboard with other mixes of dubious lineage that were bought on a whim and are being saved for “special occasions.” The next special occasion will be the opportunity that comes in January when you have a wicked cold. Make up another “hot rum,” squeeze in some lemon juice, rug yourself up in front of a fire and try to convince yourself that you’ve found a cure. You haven’t, but feeling sorry for yourself will make you feel a whole lot better. •
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Riot by matthew sullivan
Riesling is a grape that holds pride of place for many connoisseurs (including myself ) because of its incredible longevity in the cellar and the ease with which it captures the naked taste of the soil in which it’s grown. However, there is a unique aroma that often appears in Riesling, usually described as petrol, although I have also heard the terms kerosene or WD-40. Perhaps because I don’t drive, this aroma has always reminded me less of fossil fuels and more of the aroma of a newly purchased Rubbermaid garbage can. All these may sound like fanciful descriptors, but in fact this smell arises from a hydrocarbon in the wine called 1,1,6-trimethyl-1,2-dihydronaphthalene — a compound similar to one in crude oil. Whatever you wish to call it, this aroma is at the centre of a fascinating dispute. This great Riesling debate began recently
46 // December 2011/January 2012
when the influential Rhône winemaker Michel Chapoutier told Decanter magazine, “Riesling should never smell of petrol. That is a result of a mistake during winemaking.” According to Chapoutier, the petrol aroma arises when the veins inside the grape break down, something especially likely to happen in warm years. Proper winemaking techniques, like careful pressing and racking, can eliminate the problem. “Historical defects in wine should be accepted as part of the character of the wine.” Telling some Riesling lovers that the petrol smell of their favourite wine is nothing but a defect was akin to telling a group of musicians that music should never be played in B-flat minor because that key is a mistake in tuning. Chapoutier’s pronouncement ignited a storm of pique in the message boards of Decanter and Wine Spectator over what makes or breaks a good Riesling.
Newspapers are feeding us a steady diet of elections, revolutions and war. However, given my exceptionally shallow personality, there’s only one controversy that’s occupying me right now: the great Riesling debate. Chapoutier later expanded on his opinion in a thoughtful interview with the wine consultant Guillaume Jourdan; he explained that he did not object to a petrol-like bouquet in aged bottles. This subtle, chalk-like aroma is a hallmark of great Rieslings. What he couldn’t abide is a dominant note of kerosene in young wines. “The generation of my grandparents were fond of ‘hot’ cheeses and rancid sausages,” he said, implying that just because you’re used to something doesn’t make it desirable. In this sense, Chapoutier seems to liken petrol flavours to the Brettanomyces microbe. Traces of Brett are found in many wines, especially Old World reds. In small quantities, Brett adds notes of barnyard and earth that make certain wines (like Châteauneuf-du-Pape) distinctive. Too much Brett, however, completely spoils a wine, making it smell like a leprous racoon. Modern advances in winemaking, especially improved hygienic practices, can decimate Brett. Yet the larger issue is not a matter of technology but of taste: should Brett be eliminated because it hints at an old, dirty style of winemaking? Or is it intrinsic to the historic character of certain great wines, like the animalistic Château de Beaucastel?
A few days after this donnybrook erupted, I met three German winemakers to discuss their Riesling. Since Riesling is the German grape par excellence, they had decades of collective experience growing the grape and little time for Chapoutier. “Petrol is actually a sign of good quality of the wine,” said fifth-gen-
Michel Chapoutier
charles baker
eration winemaker Fritz Hasselbach, of Weingut Gunderloch. Fritz’s colleague Rainer Lingenfelder of Weingut Lingenfelder added, “Petrol is always a sign for slate vineyards.” This is why petrol is often found in the wines of the Rheinhessen and (especially) the Mosel regions of Germany, where slate abounds. I got a similar answer when I spoke with John Howard, the principal of Megalomaniac Wine in Vineland, Ontario. Riesling is in a dead heat with Chardonnay and Pinot Noir as the grape best suited for the Niagara region’s cool climate, and Megalomaniac is a good argument for why the smart money is on Riesling. The Megalomaniac 2007 Narcissist Riesling ($17.95) is a silky fibre of apple, tart peach and Bartlett pear. Although the palate is juicy, its bouquet carries a strong hit of petrol, which is precisely why I wanted John’s opinion. I also figured that given the name of his operation, he wouldn’t be meek about it.
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“He isn’t a winemaker. He’s an idiot,” said John when I asked him about Chapoutier. “The Mosel. The Saar. The Ruwer. All of the terroir there is slate sub-strata in the hills that line those rivers. You can make the argument that this is the best Riesling in the world. I don’t think you can argue with that.” When I asked him what a winemaker could do if he wanted to shed a petrol flavour, he said, “You can grow Riesling in Afghanistan and you won’t have that problem. Don’t grow it on slate.” The virtual winemaker Charles Baker was more philosophical. I decided to speak with him because he’s famous for his single-minded dedication to Riesling — he uses only that grape, producing small quantities of superb wine from one specific vineyard in the Vinemount Ridge sub-appellation of Niagara. When I asked him if he thought petrol was a flaw, he replied, “No, but I think that they’re on the right track. In young Rieslings, the flavour is mistaken for an aroma that only arises with age... That character comes from warmer years, when there’s stress in the vineyard and unbalanced maturity. It sort of resembles the petrol character of well-aged wines, but it’s not the same. It’s faux-diesel.” “The beauty of Riesling is that it transforms,” Charles said. “Young Riesling should be fruity and aromatic. But at some point, they cross over to the other side and shed their baby fat. They become petrolly and earthy.” This transformation is apparent in Charles’ own wines. I recently opened his 2006 Charles Baker Riesling and compared it to his latest release, the 2009 Charles
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Baker Riesling ($35.20). It was an interesting contrast because they were similar vintages, so the primary difference would come from their bottle aging. While both showed startling minerality, it was only in the older wine that this aroma had broadened and deepened into petrol. Yet this petrol was not overwhelming — it was floating in a fragrance of honey, apple skin and musk. For my own part, I have trouble in seeing petrol as a flaw along the lines of Brett. Brett is caused by bacteria. It arises from unsanitary conditions. The petrol note in Riesling, however, is part of that grape’s character. In fact, wine scholars like Tom Stevenson have pointed out that petrol is most prone to develop in grapes that get “ideal” treatment: warm weather, water stress, low yields and high acidity, not to mention slate terroir. Thus petrol, even in a young wine, is an indicator that the fruit is of the highest quality. That being said, there is a difference between the subtle bouquet of an old Riesling and the robust fumes of a new one. Indeed, winemakers have tools to shape their product to minimize the petrol note in younger wines. Whether you like old petrol, or new petrol, or both or neither, however, is merely a matter of taste. It’s worth noting that Michel Chapoutier’s own winemaking tends to reject Old World funkiness in favour of a cleaner international style that markets well in the USA. In this sense, his scepticism of traditional winemaking is unsurprising. For my part, I love all petrol notes, although I won’t dwell on the righteousness of my view. Why throw gasoline on the fire? •
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FOR ITINERARY PLEASE CALL DAPHNE AT 514.369.3300 • 1.800.361.9421 OR EMAIL daphchin@yahoo.com Wh_Henry AD_Turkey.indd 1
48 // December 2011/January 2012
9/12/11 10:29:31 PM
Four
ingredients
by Robert Hausner
There is something extraordinary about true delicacies preserved by respecting centuries old tradition, food created without making any changes to the process. No doubt you’ve got your own in mind. Consider mine: a 3,000-yearold Italian process for one special kind of cured meat, Prosciutto di Parma.
In 1000 BC, Cato, the historian, wrote about a common prosciutto-making procedure using either a pig or a wild boar’s rear haunches, the hind leg or thigh. It was then, and is still, an all-natural product, where additives such as sugar, smoke, water or nitrites are prohibited. In fact, Prosciutto di Parma contains only four ingredients: Italian pigs, salt, air and time. (The smoking phase was eliminated when air-drying was perfected.) The process was and is remarkably simple. The haunch was cleaned, trimmed and then salted, and left for about two weeks to draw off the moisture and preserve the meat from spoiling — a process controlled so only enough salt is absorbed to preserve it. And after about two weeks, the trimmed product has lost about one-quarter of its weight, and the flavour concentrated. After trimming to remove some skin and fat — and give it the unique chicken drumstick shape — it was then washed several times to remove the remaining salt and then hung in a well-ventilated, humid and dark environment for about a month. The amount of time it takes depends on local climate conditions and the size of the storage facility. Once the prosciutto [Italian for ham] is completely dry, it hangs at room temperature in a controlled environment for another three months or so. The hams are then moved to a dark cellar-like environment and cured for three months to a year, depending on the prosciutto’s size and original weight. It’s astonishing that the essence of the process is unchanged from Cato’s reference, 3,000 years earlier. With three millennia of experience, today the virtually finished product is greased with a softening paste of minced lard and salt to add subtleness to the unique sweetness and salty taste. A minor modification indeed for a premium food sought worldwide.
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Patrick Mathey
In France, Jambon de Bayonne, in Spain Serrano, and even German hams, which were slightly saltier, are produced in an almost identical manner. Indeed (though I’ll get a blast from some of our readers for this) they seem to have accepted Prosciutto di Parma as “the standard” — indeed the standard of excellence, combining sweetness with a slightly salty flavour. In recent years, the move has been toward homogenization to try and emulate the most famous Italian product from Parma. There’s a natural eco-friendly reason for producing it in Parma, as there’s an abundance of local salt for the curing and the pigs eat the whey left over from the local production of Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, also indigenous to the area. It’s culinary heaven. Prosciutto di Parma, and its cousin San Daniele from the Friuli-Venezia province, are also offered with modest variations in taste and style by adding various spices such chilli flakes, black pepper or ground red pepper, which are often found in products from southern Italy. These spices play a key role in conserving the meat.
50 // December 2011/January 2012
There’s a curious quirk in this happy culinary state of affairs. The official authenticating Prosciutto di Parma stamp recognizable in more than 150 countries — a ducal crown with the word Parma, written in the centre — is forbidden in Canada. Why? Because a local mass producer of Italian products, known by the famous Canadian leaf on its logo, purchased the copyright to the name more than three decades ago. So, only in Canada is it called “prosciutto Originale,” while everywhere else in the world it is Prosciutto di Parma.
Undoubtedly a delicacy, prosciutto is most often served as a first course, with slices so paper thin that you can almost read this magazine through it, and draped on a plate with melon or wedges of figs, or perhaps sliced pears. It is wonderful wrapped in grissini (breadsticks) and equally delicious offset against kiwi or ripe mango. Slightly more substantial and offered as a course by itself is prosciutto wrapped around or draped on asparagus.
The velvety, slightly salty flavour is sensational when shredded and mixed into thin pasta, like capellini or linguini, sometimes mixed with pesto and a bit of heavy cream. And if it’s designer pizza you’re after, substitute prosciutto for any of the usual meats (boiled ham or any sausage slices). Or take but a minute for a superb sandwich: a Panini or a crusty roll with a slice of tomato, and mozzarella or wafer thin slices of prosciutto topped with shavings of Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, and drizzled with high quality, first-pressed olive oil. There is a wonderful marriage, too, between veal and prosciutto. Use the prosciutto either as a stuffing, or simply wrapped around the meat and oven baked. Try it as a break with tradition in your cheese course, combining prosciutto with crumbled gorgonzola, or round out a meal with an easy and novel dessert, mixing it with glazed plums: a mouth-watering combination. Marcella Hazan, the queen of Italian cooking in North America, calls Prosciutto di Parma “an old friend of cooks.” It enhances her signature dish of red snapper and prosciutto, sautéed in white wine, “since it is air-cured and brings no distracting smokiness into the food in which it is cooked”. Naturally, there are cousins to prosciutto that have been developed over the centuries. Culatello is a more refined variety of prosciutto made from heavier animals, and the ultimate cured meat is probably Culatello di Zibello, which has a special “denomination of origin” status. Served as a starter with fresh figs, it is nothing less than amazing. Of course, there are a few other derivatives too, sometimes quite astonishing. I have heard, more than once, people recalling their first experience with a dry but not firm, rather chunky-textured Calabrian sausage with a slightly sweet flavour with a pronounced smokiness. Called coppa or capicollo, it’s made from the pork shoulder or neck, and dry-cured, whole. It was virtually unknown until it was frequently mentioned in episodes of The Sopranos, though it also made an appearance in The Godfather.
John van der Lieck
And when I saw the word figatellu, I assumed it was a combination of smoked pork and a bit of dried figs. But it’s made from a combination of ham, pork liver and pigs’ blood. I’m not a great fan of liver, or pigs’ blood for that matter. And I am not alone. But it had a delightfully surprising taste, until I inquired how it was made! To our credit, authentic-tasting prosciutto is available “home grown” in Canada now. There are at least three extraordinary producers … The outstanding Canadian success for the production of high-quality prosciutto, and now culatello, is Patrick Mathey’s Cochons Tout Ronds, located on the mini Magdalen Islands in the gaping Gulf of St Lawrence, 400 miles from Newfoundland or Nova Scotia. The former restaurant owner in Montreal’s West Island moved to the Magdalens and became a charcuterie producer. But Mathey is not your run-of-the-mill creator merely following strict production methods. No, this Canadian was recently conferred the ultimate honour by his Italian peers, the gold prize Culatello Award. It is the first time this distinction has been awarded outside of Italy. Indeed, though there are only 14 producers of culatello in Italy, Patrick became, in effect, the 15th, and acknowledged as a super-producer.
His full range of charcuterie is sold at both of Montreal’s outdoor markets — the Atwater and Jean Talon — and Quebec City clients can buy his range at their famous market too. It is more than a great credit to Patrick, but proof positive, again, of the sophisticated tastes of an increasing number of Canadian gourmets. The Niagara peninsula region also boasts a pure-bred producer of prosciutto — the Mario Pingue family. They follow the strictest standards from Italian producers of San Daniele prosciutto. No preservatives, nitrates or other additives are used. In fact, there’s a direct, ongoing connection and exchange with the Corodazzi family, who are well-known producers in Italy. Their cured meats are sold through high quality delicatessens and restaurants. And, on our west coast, the inimitable and charming John van der Lieck at Oyama Sausage produces prosciutto too, in the 3,000-year-old tradition, and sells the mouthwatering slices at the Granville Island market in Vancouver, respecting and following a five generation family legacy. With all things considered, we have choice, quality and availability for a true Mediterranean delicacy. And all that in our backyard. •
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davine
by gurvinder Bhatia
//those caviar dreams
Tenuta S.Anna Rosato ‘il Rosa Petillant’ NV, Veneto, Italy ($18.99)
Lovely fresh blend of Merlot and Pinot Noir with aromas and flavours of cherries, plums and citrus, a soft creamy texture and juicy acidity on the clean finish.
Tenuta S.Anna Prosecco Frizzante NV, Veneto, Italy ($19.99) I am a firm believer that we all need to drink more sparkling wine. It seems that too many people look at sparkling wines only as a way to celebrate a special occasion or ring in the New Year. The reasoning may be that when people think of sparkling they think Champagne, and most good quality Champagnes are not conducive to the pocketbook for everyday drinking. But there are so many great quality sparkling wines that can be enjoyed everyday without the big hit to the wallet. Prosecco from Italy and Cava from Spain may be the best known value sparklings, but quality bubbles at great prices can be found in most of the world’s wine producing regions. So instead of waiting for a special occasion, pop open a bottle of sparkling and make any occasion special. In fact, we should all resolve to make time to celebrate life. We all work hard and life seems to fly by fast. We deserve to celebrate more often. It’s amazing how a good glass of bubbles can lift your mood, whet your appetite and get the party started. To help you get started, here’s a list of Champagne-quality sparkling wines without the Champagne price. Fifteen sparklers under $50 to celebrate life. Remember, you’re worth it.
52 // December 2011/January 2012
Lively with a full texture, aromas and flavours of citrus, apple and peach, beautiful balance and delightfully fun. A tremendous value.
Castillo Perlada Cava Brut Reserva NV, Penedes, Spain ($22.99) Hints of hazlenut, brioche and citrus with a lively texture, bright acidity and a finish that lingers with enough body to stand up to light hors d’oeuvres and fried seafood.
Ruggeri Prosecco Superiore ‘Santo Stefano’ NV, Veneto, Italy ($27.99)
Beautifully elegant and fresh, with aromas and flavours of peach, apple, pear and citrus, a gorgeous texture, delicate and refined with just a hint of ripe sweetness on the lifted finish.
Graham Beck Brut NV, Western Cape, South Africa ($28)
Mature aromas of baked bread, roasted hazelnut and fig with apple, citrus zest and spice flavours that linger for a toasty finish.
Roederer Estate Brut NV, California ($35)
Rich toasty aromas and flavours with full bubbles, apple, citrus and hazelnuts with elegance and finesse and a long, bready finish.
Argyle Brut 2005, Willamette Valley, Oregon ($38)
Toasty, honeyed almond notes with citrus and fig, powerful yet graceful, with a long, lingering finish. Arguably the best sparkling wine producer in North America.
Highfield Brut Cuvee ‘Elstree’ 2005, Marlborough, New Zealand ($45) Raventos i Blanc Cava Brut Reserva ‘L’Hereu’ 2008, Penedes, Spain ($29.99)
Lovely fresh flavours of apple, nut, cream, honey and toast with refined bubbles, fine texture and bright acidity.
Domaine Chandon Blanc de Noir, California ($34)
Consistently well made with aromas of Asian pear and brioche, flavours of baked apple and yeasty hazelnut that lead to a lingering, crisp finish.
Raventos i Blanc Cava Rosado ‘de Nit’ 2008, Penedes, Spain ($34)
Nice shade of pale pink with aromas and flavours of cherry, apple, spice and honey, a lightly creamy texture and racy finish.
Ruggeri Prosecco ‘Giustino B’ DOCG 2009, Veneto, Italy ($36)
Beautiful, fresh, delicate and extraordinarily well balanced, showing apple, peach, citrus and grapefruit with a soft creamy texture and lovely minerality on the delicious, elegant finish. A benchmark for Prosecco.
Aromas of toasted brioche with a hint of smokiness with flavours of pear, spice and citrus, lively bubbles and an elegant toastiness. Hard to distinguish from real Champagne.
Road 13 Sparkling Chenin Blanc ‘Home Vineyard’ 2007, Okanagan, BC ($48)
Bright and lively with aromas of baked brioche and apple pie followed by flavours of apples and pears, a rich texture, a touch of yeastiness, beautiful complexity, zippy acidity on the finish. Possesses loads of character.
Marotti Campi Xyris 2010, Marche, Italy ($28) Dangerously quaffable, unique, fun and versatile red frizzante, really exuberant with amazing aromas of roses, extreme fresh fruit and tons of juicy blueberry, black cherry and blackberry flavours, soft and fresh with only a hint of natural sweetness, but far from being sticky sweet.
D’Arenberg Sparkling Red Chambourcin ‘The Peppermint Paddock’ NV, McLaren Vale, Australia ($34) Ripe and fizzy red sparkling with grapey aromas and flavours of black cherry, wild berry, spice with a hint of fresh herbs and a lively character. •
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//the food notes
88 Burrowing Owl Meritage 2008, Okanagan ($45) This 5-variety Bordeaux blend — led by Merlot (50%) — opens with fragrant cassis, black plum and chocolate. The lively palate follows with rich mocha and blackcurrant flavours. Finishes with complex tobacco and coffee bean. Aerate to soften the tannins before serving with your holiday roast. (HH)
88 Wynns Coonawarra Estate Shiraz 2009, Coonawarra, Australia ($23.99)
Aromas of pepper, bright blackberries and raspberries with hints of spice. Elegant, yet concentrated flavours of black cherries and blackberries, hints of spice and earth with good complexity, gentle tannins and a great freshness on the long lasting finish. Despite its elegance and delicacy, the wine possesses a great underlying structure, which should allow for it to continue to develop and evolve over the next 3 to 5 years. Quite versatile when pairing with food, matching with everything from a nicely prepared piece of Alberta beef to bison to duck ragoût to hard cheeses. (GB)
90 Meyer-Fonne Pinot Gris Reserve 2006, Alsace, France ($20)
This is a thick, unctuous Pinot Gris with a nose of pure stone fruits, flowers, minerals and creamy vanilla. It gushes on the palate with peach, apricot, lemon curd, honey and lovely baking spices. A powerful Alsatian beauty. Would pair well with wild mushroom risotto. (RV)
90 Banfi Colvecchio Syrah DOC Sant’Antimo 2004, Tuscany ($35)
An old-style Syrah with aromas of blackcurrants, cassis, smoke, roasted meats, liquorice and pepper. It’s rich and layered on the palate with smoky blueberry and currants, cracked black pepper, firm tannins and lavish spices. Serve with comfort foods such as boeuf bourguignon, brisket, and hard cheeses. (RV)
86 Aliança Dão DOC Reserva 2007, Portugal ($11.99) On the nose, plum, black cherry with a touch of bell pepper, clove and dried herb. Black cherry is more dominant in the mouth, with dark chocolate smoothness, balanced acidity and tannic grip. With its satisfyingly dry finish, this is a wine to pair with red meats, mixed grills in the Portuguese style and hard, ripened cheeses. (SW)
89 Ken Forrester Renegade 2006, Western Cape, South Africa ($25)
An elegant blend of Syrah and Grenache with aromas and flavours of blackberries, black cherries, and hints of chocolate and coffee, soft tannins and a long, soft finish. A great match for pork and veal. (GB)
54 // December 2011/January 2012
94 Montes Folly 2006, Apalta Vineyard, Colchagua Valley, Chile ($86.99) The high, steep 45-degree slopes ensure the grapes are sun drenched by day yet well cooled by night. Seductively fragrant aromas of violets and wild berries. Decadently rich flavours of smoky, peppery meat and dense dark berries are well balanced by bright acidity and supple tannins. The blockbuster finish unveils chocolate and vanilla notes. Heartwarming with a hearty winter stew. (HH)
87 Sokol Blosser Evolution #14, United States ($20) Sokal Blosser makes this irreverent, multi-regional, ninegrape white blend as a non-vintage wine. The “14” refers to the number of vintages made. It’s a fun wine with a nose of tropical fruit, peach, honey, lemon and floral notes. It’s finished slightly off-dry but still shows good acidity with tropical-citrus fruits. Serve with fresh salads and Thai food. (RV)
Bouquet Garni by nancy johnson
//fast, easy, fresh
I am wondering how to celebrate the 300th issue of Tidings. The obvious thing would be to offer 300 recipes. Or perhaps I should create a few spectacular recipes with 300 ingredients each, sort of like the recipes from the late, great Gourmet. On a smaller scale, I could purchase my 300th pair of shoes, but I’ve already done that. Or watch the movie 300 for the 300th time, but I’ve already done that, too. (I can’t stop looking at Gerard Butler.) What I’ve decided to do is offer my most recent go-to recipes, the ones I love to make on a weeknight when there are 300 things to do, 300 things to worry about and 300 friends I need to phone, text or email. Using the microwave, slow cooker, fresh ingredients and a little ingenuity, dinner is ready before I can shout “Happy 300th issue, Tidings!”
goat cheese pizza I go through phases where all I want to do is make — and eat — pizza. This is one of my favourites because I love red onions, red peppers and goat cheese. I prefer to make my own crust, but after a hard day at the salt mines, I am very grateful for the packaged variety.
1/4 1 1
1/2
4 1
1/2
cup extra virgin olive oil medium red onion, thinly sliced medium sweet red pepper, thinly sliced tsp dried thyme leaves cloves garlic, minced purchased baked pizza crust cup goat cheese, crumbled
1. Preheat oven to 450˚F. 2. In large skillet, sauté onion, pepper and thyme until onions and peppers are softened, about 15 minutes. Add garlic and sauté 2 minutes longer. Season with salt and pepper. 3. Place crust on large baking sheet. Brush with a bit of oil from the skillet. Top with pepper mixture. Sprinkle with goat cheese. Bake until heated through, about 10 to 12 minutes.
…… A dry, fruity, moderately oaked California Sauvignon Blanc is the ticket!
ham slice with rum raisin sauce Serves 4
Ham doesn’t have to be reserved for holidays. A large ham slice sautés quickly and the accompanying raisin sauce is fast and easy. If you don’t have rum on hand, just use 1 1/2 cups of apple juice. The raisin sauce recipe comes from my mother-in-law who is an excellent cook.
1
ham slice, patted dry
rum raisin sauce
1/4 1/4 1 1/4 1 1/2 1
1/4 1
cup raisins cup rum (optional) cups apple juice tbsp cornstarch tsp dry mustard cup brown sugar tbsp fresh lemon juice
1. In a medium saucepan, mix raisins and rum. Cook over low
heat until rum is reduced, about 5 minutes. Add apple juice and cook 5 minutes longer. 2. In a small bowl, stir cornstarch, dry mustard, brown sugar and lemon juice. Add to raisin mixture. Cook over medium heat, stirring, until mixture is thick and clear. 3. Meanwhile, coat a large skillet with cooking spray. 4. Sauté the ham over medium high heat until heated through. Serve with rum raisin sauce. Delicious with pan-fried sliced potatoes. …… Try an off-dry, peachy Washington or Niagara Riesling with subtle mineral notes to counterbalance the ham’s salty character. See page 46 for some examples.
+ Search through a wide range of wine-friendly recipes on tidingsmag.com
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pulled pork sandwiches with weeknight coleslaw Serves 4 to 6
grilled chicken souvlaki with garlic dill tzatziki sauce Serves 4 to 6
An all-weather recipe, this can be made in the broiler now and on the grill come spring. The chicken cooks quickly but you do have to start marinating it the night before. Serve with a Greek salad of diced green peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers and feta cheese, lightly drizzled with olive oil and fresh lemon juice.
1/4 1/4 1/4 4 1 4
cup extra virgin olive oil cup balsamic vinegar cup dry white wine cloves garlic, minced tsp dried oregano chicken breast filets, cut into large chunks
1. In a large bowl, mix olive oil, vinegar, wine, garlic and oregano. Stir in
chicken. Marinate overnight. 2. Preheat broiler or grill. Thread chicken on skewers. Discard marinade. 3. Broil or grill chicken skewers 7 minutes per side or until chicken is cooked through. Serve with tzatziki Sauce.
garlic dill tzatziki sauce Make the sauce just before serving and be sure cucumbers are dry; otherwise the sauce will “water out.” The other half of the cucumber can be diced and served in the Greek salad.
1/2 1/2
cucumber, peeled and grated tsp salt 2 cups plain Greek yogurt 2 cloves garlic, minced 1 tbsp fresh dill Dash hot sauce (such as Tabasco)
1. Place grated cucumber in a colander. Top with salt. Let rest 30 minutes. Rinse and pat dry thoroughly.
2. In a medium bowl, mix cucumber, yogurt, garlic, dill and hot sauce. Serve immediately. …… Try a Pinot Grigio or Pinot Gris, either of which will work nicely with this tangy dish.
56 // December 2011/January 2012
The easiest way to make pulled pork is to toss a seared pork roast into the slow cooker. This recipe qualifies as ‘fast’ because it comes together quickly in the morning before you leave for work. While I often make pulled pork with a cheaper cut of pork shoulder, this time I’ve chosen the Prada of pork roasts — the boneless sirloin. If you are not feeding a crowd, it makes perfect sense to use a smaller, better-quality cut. Ten hours in the Crock-Pot renders a tender, fall-apart roast of nearly all white meat with just enough leftovers. Make the coleslaw in the morning, while you’re sautéing the pork roast.
1 boneless pork sirloin, about 3 pounds 1 tbsp olive oil 2 stalks celery with leaves, chopped 1 small onion, peeled and chopped 1 bay leaf 2 cups water Kaiser rolls Purchased barbecue sauce
weeknight coleslaw
1 2 1/2 1/2 1/2 1/4 2 1/4
bag coleslaw tbsp sugar, divided tsp dry mustard tsp celery seed tsp salt tbsp cider vinegar cup canola oil
1. In large skillet, sear pork roast in hot oil on all sides. Season with salt and pepper.
2. Place celery, onion, bay leaf and water in slow
cooker. Add seared pork roast. Cover and cook on low 10 to 12 hours. 3. Make coleslaw: 4. Place coleslaw in a large bowl. Sprinkle with 2 tbsp sugar. 5. Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, mix remaining 1/2 tbsp sugar, dry mustard, celery seed, salt, vinegar and oil. Bring to a boil over medium heat. 6. Pour over coleslaw. Marinate in refrigerator 8 to 10 hours. 7. When pork is tender, remove from Crock-Pot. Discard vegetables, bay leaf and juice. Shred pork. Serve on Kaiser rolls, with a squiggle of barbecue sauce and a few spoonfuls of coleslaw in each sandwich. Or serve coleslaw and barbecue sauce on the side. …… A bold, crisp New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc will match the bold pork and crisp coleslaw.
shrimp gumbo Serves 4
A trip to Kentucky led me to the fiery offerings of Lexington’s infamous Gumbo Ya Ya. With a heaping plate of crawfish maque choux and shrimp étouffée in front of me, I experienced a life-changing revelation: I have been way too timid in the hot sauce department. After years of kicking it down a notch, I’m fixin’ to kick it up. I have begun my Cajun journey, with a side of Creole. There will be more recipes to come. For now, this is as basic a Cajun as you can get, made right in the microwave. Okra is the key to thickening the gumbo, so don’t skip it. I always have a bag of frozen, colossal, peeled and deveined shrimp in the freezer for easy weeknight meals.
1 1 2 2 1 1 1
1/2 1/2
1 1 2 1
onion, chopped green bell pepper, seeded and chopped cloves garlic, minced tbsp olive oil can diced tomatoes cup chicken stock package frozen okra, defrosted and sliced tsp hot sauce (such as Tabasco) tsp dried oregano tsp fresh lemon juice lb large shrimp, peeled and deveined cups cooked long grain rice tbsp minced chives
1. In a large microwave-safe casserole, combine onions,
peppers, garlic and oil. Cover and microwave on high for 5 minutes or until onions are transparent. 2. Stir tomatoes into casserole. Add stock, okra, hot pepper sauce, oregano and fresh lemon juice. Cover and microwave 12 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add shrimp, cover and cook 3 minutes or until shrimp are pink and cooked through. 3. Stir in cooked rice and garnish with chives. Pass the hot sauce. …… A medium-bodied Viognier will tame the heat.
nancy lucarelli’s walla walla slow cooker meatballs Serves 6
Yes, my maiden name is Lucarelli. But no, I am not the Nancy Lucarelli who originated this meatball recipe. Rather, the Nancy Lucarelli in question is my former pen pal. We discovered each other when my very first article was published in Catholic Miss Magazine when I was just 11 years old. We rediscovered each other a few years ago on Facebook. Nancy lives in Walla Walla, Washington and I have never met her in person. But I feel like I’ve always known her. This recipe is slightly adapted from Nancy’s original, which her family serves at Christmas. Cavatelli can often be found in the frozen food case. Any thick, stout pasta will work.
1
lb ground sirloin lb Italian sausage, casings removed Generous handful grated Parmesan cheese 1 tsp salt 2 tsp garlic powder 2 eggs 1 slice bread, soaked in milk and mashed 1 jar good quality basil pesto 2 jars passata di pomodoro or 2 large cans (796 ml) crushed tomatoes 1 1/2 lb cavatelli or rigatoni, cooked (750 g)
1/2
1. Heat oven to 400˚F. 2. In large bowl, mix sirloin, sausage, cheese, salt, garlic powder, eggs, and bread. Roll into small meatballs.
3. Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray. Arrange meatballs on
baking sheet. Cook in oven until browned, about 10 to15 minutes. 4. Gently spoon meatballs into slow cooker. 5. In a large bowl, mix passata di pomodoro or tomato sauce with pesto. Pour over meatballs. Cook on low for 8 to 10 hours. Serve with cavatelli or rigatoni. …… A fruity, spicy Chianti Classico would be a great pour. •
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//the notes 87 Wolf Blass Shiraz/Grenache 2010, Southeastern Australia ($15) This is the kind of wine that could convert the nonwine drinker into a sensible person. Deep ruby colour, minty, blackberry nose, soft and fruit on the palate with a touch of sweetness and a lavender note. Medium-bodied. Easy drinking. (TA)
90 Jean-Yves Peron VdP d’Allobrogie Champ Levat 2009, HauteSavoie, France ($25) A fascinating red wine made with 100% Mondeuse, a rustic version of Syrah that follows the natural winemaking principals of “nothing added, nothing taken away.” In other words, wild fermentation, no sulphur added, organically farmed vineyards. It shows a crazy-wild nose of fruitcake, spice, cinnamon, cloves, violets, sunbaked raspberry and blackcurrants. In the mouth it’s bone dry, tight and highly acidic with flavours of crushed flowers, loam, mineral, aggressive tannins, peppery spice, raspberry, cranberry and boysenberry. Not for everyone, but a thrill if you’re looking for something different. (RV)
90 Benjamin Bridge Vero 2010, Tidal Bay, Nova Scotia ($21.99) Shows strong Muscat floral and slightly musky scents with notes of yellow fruit and a whiff of stony mineral. Citrus fruit is more dominant in the mouth with background exotic tropical fruit, brisk acidity, mineral and a touch of residual sweetness. (SW)
90 Mike Weir Riesling 2008, Niagara ($14.95) Made from grapes sourced from Château des Charmes’s 13-year-old vineyard in St. David’s. The nose is honeyed grapefruit and lime with a petrol note. It’s off-dry, beautifully balanced with succulent peach and citrus flavours. It reminds me of a Rheingau Riesling Kabinett. (TA)
89 Oyster Bay Pinot Noir 2010, Marlborough, New Zealand ($24.99)
Reveals classic seductive Pinot scents of raspberry and strawberry with a minty herbal overtone. Crushed raspberry in the mouth comes with background dark cherry flavour; a splash of chocolate and a well rounded and integrated finish. (SW)
58 // December 2011/January 2012
89 13th Street Winery June’s Vineyard Riesling 2010, Niagara ($17.95) Most Riesling in Ontario is made from the Germanic Weiss 21B clone, which tends to produce wines that are more mineraldriven. This wine was produced from the Alsatian clone 49, which has given more of a tropical dimension to the wine-peach compote, as passion fruit meets with grapefruit and lime. Beautiful persistency and a refreshing backbone complete the wine. (ES)
Tidings uses the 100-point scale 95-100 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90-94. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85-89 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80-84. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75-79. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70 & under. . . . . . . . . . .
exceptional excellent very good good acceptable below average
* . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . available through wine clubs green. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . white & rosé wines red. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . red wines
Our Scoring
System
the commentaries in order to get an idea of whether the wine might appeal to your taste. The prices listed are suggested retail prices and may vary from province to province. Since a large number of these wines can be purchased across Canada, check with your local liquor board, or its website, for availability. Our tasters are Tony Aspler (ON), Sean Wood (NS, NB), Gilles Bois (QC), Evan Saviolidis (ON), Harry Hertscheg (BC), Gurvinder Bhatia (AB), Rick VanSickle (ON) and Jonathan Smithe (MB). Argentina // p. 59; Australia // p. 59; Austria // p. 59-60; Canada // p. 60-61; Chile // p. 61-63; France // p. 63;
Each wine is judged on its own merits, in its respective category. Readers should open their palates to compare the relationship between quality and price. We’d also ask you to carefully study
Germany // p. 63; Greece // p. 63; Israel // p. 64; Italy // p. 64-65; New Zealand // p. 65; Portugal // p. 65;
the notes\\ /Argentina /
88 Tilia Torrontes 2010, Salta ($12.95)
They don’t come more exotic in bouquet and flavour than this. The Torrontes grape is native to Argentina and is very similar in style to the dry Muscats of Alsace. Pale straw colour, intense nose of carnation, rosewater, orange. Dry Muscat-like flavour, perfumed and lingering. Good value. (TA)
88 Allegrini & Renacer Enamore 2009, Mendoza ($34)
A joint project between Italy’s Allegrini and Argentina’s Renacer using the appassimento method — on grape varietals not typically treated in this
method. The wine is a blend of Malbec, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Bonarda showing bright, rich aromas of currants, black cherries and spice with flavours of blackberries and raspberries, a touch savoury, rich velvety tannins and a long finish. (GB)
/Australia / 87 Stella Bella Skuttlebutt Sauvignon/Semillon 2010, Margaret River, Western Australia ($21) Grassy, herbal and mineral intensity dominates on the nose, with green fruit and crisp peach flavours pleasantly softened by Semillon influence on the palate. (SW)
+ A searchable listing of our tasting notes is at tidingsmag.com/notes/
South Africa // p. 65; Spain // p. 65; United States // p. 65
88 McGuigan Bin Series No 2000 Limestone Coast Shiraz 2010, South Australia ($14.99)
Ripe, lightly peppery raspberry scents shift to darker berry richness in the mouth with moderate tannins and clean acidity. Notes of spice and chocolate meld harmoniously with fruit on the finish. (SW)
88 Stella Bella Skuttlebutt Shiraz/Cabernet 2007, Margaret River, Western Australia ($21) Piquant blackcurrant and green herbal intensity on the nose carries through on the palate. Lively fruit is backed up by supple tannins and mouth-tingling acidity. Background berry fruit
together with traces of dark chocolate and spice add a touch of complexity. (SW)
86 MacGuigan Black Label Shiraz 2010, Southeastern Australia ($11)
Typical richly ripe and spicy Aussie Shiraz but surprisingly restrained raspberry and blackberry fruit. Nothing jammy here and acidity is lively with lightly firm dry tannins. Excellent value. (SW)
/Austria / 91 Weingut Michlits Pinot Noir Frizzante Rosé 2009, Burgenland ($20) A delightful sparkling wine made from organic-biody-
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//the notes 90 Santa Rita Medalla Real Cabernet Sauvignon 2007, Maipo Valley, Chile ($19.99) 91 Mission Hill Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve 2009, Okanagan ($24.99) Deep purple colour, creamy blackcurrant nose with a note of mint and tobacco, rich, well extracted sweet blackcurrant fruit, firmly structured with flavours of chocolate and cocoa powder tannins. (TA) namic vineyards in a slightly off-dry style. The nose shows perfectly balanced cherryraspberry fruits with just a hint of citrus. It has moderate effervescence on the palate with clean and crisp red fruits. A perfect aperitif. (RV)
87 Tegernseerhof Grüner Veltliner T-26 Federspiel 2010, Wachau ($19) Groovy Grüner is a rising star in the wine world because it’s such a flavourful and foodfriendly white wine. It shows aromas of pear, citrus and lovely spice notes. But the real show is in the mouth. Anjou pear, melon, peach and citrus fruits with flinty minerality and crisp acidity through the finish. Serve with sushi. (RV)
/Canada / 90 Gaspereau Vineyards 2010, Tidal Bay, Nova Scotia ($21.99)
Aromatics show mellow green fruit, pear, floral and tropical fruit notes with prominent gritty mineral. Nicely rounded
flavours reveal lovely fresh apple and citrus. Sweetness on mid palate contrasts beautifully with lively crispness on the finish. (SW)
90 Thirty Bench Winemakers Small Lot Riesling “Triangle Vineyard” 2010, Beamsville Bench ($30)
Of all of Thirty Bench’s Rieslings in 2010, this is my favourite. It serves up a bouquet of minerals, peach, lime, grapefruit and a touch of honey. Light to medium bodied, there is dash of residual sugar, but it is definitely on the dry side. The excellent length and crisp acid round out the mix. (ES)
89 Avondale Sky 2010, Tidal Bay, Nova Scotia ($19.99)
This brand new winery is not yet formally open. Remarkably full aromatic floral, green herb and lemon with a whiff of grapefruit. Lively green fruit flavours reveal fresh ripe apple, firm mineral and clean refreshing acidity. Shows considerable charm. (SW)
60 // December 2011/January 2012
Its smoky nose and rich palate signal its complexity. Oozes with cassis, black fruits and chocolate that are well integrated with ripe tannins. Its chocolate-mint finish satisfies. Impressive in its perennially consistent quality given an 80,000-case-per-year production. A match for flavourful hanger steak. (HH)
89 Blomidon Estate 2010, Tidal Bay, Nova Scotia ($19.99)
Aromatic floral, citrus, mineral and a suggestion of pineapple on the nose. Shows a touch of sweetness on the palate, with apple more apparent than citrus. Brightly crisp acidity and mineral grip. (SW)
89 Petite Rivière Vineyards 2010, Tidal Bay, Nova Scotia ($21.95)
This blend of Chardonnay, Seyval Blanc and l’Acadie is a little restrained on the nose with delicate floral notes, yellow pear, citrus and a whiff of honey. Interesting palate shows crisp apricot, apple and a suggestion of lemon honey on the finish. Light sweetness is deftly balanced by lively acidity. (SW)
89 Cedar Creek Riesling 2010, Okanagan, BC ($21.99)
Wonderfully vibrant with bright and fresh aromas of lime and other citrus fruits. Tightly knit and focused on the palate with crunchy apple and lime
flavours, plenty of zippy acidity, refreshing minerality, a clean mouth-watering finish and a nice bit of ripe, juicy fruit lingering on the mid-palate. Relatively low 11.3% alcohol really increases the drinkability of this wine. A great match with salads, shellfish, oysters, Thai, Indian, Malaysian and other Asian cuisines or for just sipping. (GB)
89 Domaine de Grand Pré 2010, Tidal Bay, Nova Scotia ($22.49)
Five varieties go into this eclectic blend. Very fragrant floral, yellow fruit, peach, apricot mango, a whiff of Muscat and green herb. Delicate sweetness on the palate with lively fresh fruit lift, good acidity and grippy mineral. Lingering floral, honeyed and fruity notes. (SW)
88 River Stone Malbec Rosé 2010, Okanagan ($19.90)
This dark ruby pink rosé delights with fragrant strawberry, rose petal and sassafras aromas. The softly textured yet
refreshing palate gushes with off-dry flavours of black cherry, black plum and spicy root beer. Serve slightly chilled at a holiday party. (HH)
88 13th Street Winery 13 Below Zero NV, Niagara ($19.95)
This singular wine is a blend of 2008 Riesling Icewine and the dry 2009 June’s Vineyard Riesling. Medium sweet (think Auslese); the perfume of peach jam, flowers, honeycomb and spice beguiles the senses. A lengthy finish and superb acid give symmetry. (ES)
88 Southbrook Triomphe Chardonnay 2009, Niagara-on-theLake ($21.95)
The nose of pineapple, honey, white peach and vanilla gives way to a palate of spice and minerals. The length is very good with fresh acid rounding out the experience. (ES)
88 Tantalus Rosé 2010, Okanagan ($22)
This watermelon-coloured blend delivers complexity with its refreshing minerality and light, dry tannins. Red berry and cinnamon aromas give way to bursting cherry, cranberry and raspberry flavours en route to a spicy finish. Poised for a holiday season brunch. (HH)
88 Thirty Bench Winemakers Small Lot Chardonnay 2009, Beamsville Bench ($30)
This Chardonnay shows a very Meursault nose of hazelnut, honey, spice, pineapple and green apple. Mid weight, there is a creamy texture, crisp acid and a spicy finish. Drink over the next 5 years. (ES)
87 Jost Vineyards 2010, Tidal Bay, Nova Scotia ($19.99)
100% l’Acadie showing citrus, floral and lightly pungent herbal scent. Typical Jost style sweetness in the mouth, with honeyed citrus, apple and a suggestion of stone fruit. (SW)
87 Rosehall Run Cuvée County Chardonnay 2009, Prince Edward County ($21.95)
PEC’s limestone soils translate into a backbone of minerality for this wine, which supports the toast, vanilla, pear, cream and nutmeg. A medium body, crisp acidity and very good length make for a wine well suited for veal medallions in a dijon/cream sauce. (ES)
85 Southbrook Vineyards Connect White 2010, Ontario ($15)
I am usually standoffish about dry Vidal, but this wine was a pleasant surprise. Off dry, it serves up peach, Asian pear, spice and citrus. Refreshing and easy drinking is its mantra. (ES)
90 Henry of Pelham Reserve Baco Noir 2009, Ontario ($24.95) A concentrated offering full of raspberries, blackberries, mocha, espresso, spice and game. Typical hybrid acidity and supple tannins backstop the fabulous finish. Drink over the next 5 years, preferably with duck rillettes or a pork terrine. (ES)
88 Mission Hill Five Vineyards Cabernet/ Merlot 2009, Okanagan ($16.99)
Deep ruby in colour with a cedar, blackcurrant and plum nose, firmly structured, spicy,
savoury fruit with mellow tannins. Finishes with toasty oak. A good buy. (TA)
88 13th Street Winery Merlot 2010, Niagara ($18) This soft and approachable Merlot is all about the fruit, as it hasn’t been touched by any oak. Mid weight, the plum, cherry, tobacco leaf, menthol and mocha are supported by supple tannins and sound acid. (ES)
88 Southbrook Vineyards Whimsy! Cabernet Franc 2008, Niagaraon-the-Lake ($35)
Here is an aromatically enticing Franc with a bouquet of cassis, bell pepper, peppermint, violets, vanilla and earth. The palate emulates the nose and the soft texture makes it amiable to grilled calf’s liver in a mushroom sauce. (ES)
88 Southbrook Vineyards Whimsy! Winemakers’ Red 2008, Niagara-onthe-Lake ($35) By no means was ‘08 an easy red wine vintage in Ontario, but Ann Sperling and her team have pulled of a minor miracle. I credit this to the biodynamic practices that are in place at Southbrook. This blend of 37% Cabernet Sauvignon, 37% Merlot and 26% Franc. Deep cherry colour and a profile of plums, tobacco smoke, spice, flowers, vanilla and pencil shavings. Medium bodied and elegantly styled, there are some noticeable tannins. Drink over the next 3 years. (ES)
87 G. Marquis Cabernet Sauvignon ‘The Red Line’ 2009, Niagara Peninsula ($12.95) This latest bargain-priced brand from Magnotta offers
varietals at wallet-friendly prices. This wine is rubycoloured with a minty, cherry and pencil lead nose. It’s light on the palate with a fruity redcurrant flavour. (TA)
87 13th Street Winery Gamay Noir 2010, Niagara ($19.95)
Prunes, raspberries, tobacco leaf and black pepper. Fresh acid, soft tannins and a juicy mid palate make this bottling a perfect candidate for grilled marinated quail or herb marinated roast pork. (ES)
85 Southbrook Vineyards Connect Red 2008, Niagara-on-the-Lake ($15) This red companion to the Connect White is a quaffable mix of cassis, herbs, cherries and pepper. Soft tannins and an easy drinking personality add to its allure. (ES)
/Chile / 93 Amayna Barrel Fermented Sauvignon Blanc 2007, Leyda Valley ($29)
This 100% barrel-fermented, lees-stirred Sauv Blanc has aged gracefully because of ample acidity. The honeysuckle and ginger bouquet turns to earthy mushroom on the juicy palate. The remarkably creamy texture, mineral tones and long finish ensure pleasurable drinking for another couple of years. Savour with sablefish. (HH)
88 Montes Cherub Rosé of Syrah 2010, Colchagua Valley ($14.95)
This deep watermelon-coloured rosé exhibits a rich Tavel-like heft. The seductive strawberry and cherry aromas
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//the notes 90 Ciù Ciù Le Merlettaie 2009, Offida, Marche, Italy ($16.95) Straw yellow. Ripe white fruits (pear, apricot), slightly floral, touches of honey and spices (ginger, cinnamon). Balanced acidity, soft and full texture, pleasant fruity taste. More ripeness in the long finish. Made from the littleknown Pecorino grape, this is a nice discovery. (GBQc)
turn to more exuberant dark fruits on the dry palate. Long spicy finish satisfies. Can handle roast turkey with all the fixings. (HH)
87 Chono Sauvignon Blanc Reserva 2010, Casablanca Valley ($16) Bright with flint and citrus notes, a touch of gooseberry, chive flower, asparagus juice and sea salt with a zippy mouthfeel and a clean, mouth-watering finish. (GB)
94 Errazuriz Don Maximiano Founder’s Reserve 2007, Aconcagua Valley ($89.99)
This Cab Sauv dominant blend is buttressed by complexity-enhancing Cab Franc, Petit Verdot and Syrah (6% each). Attention-grabbing aromas and flavours of black tea, mint and black fruits. This muscular, full-bodied wine expands on the palate as layers upon layers unfold onto well-polished tannins. Its relentless finish ensures worthy contemplation over a chess match. (HH)
92 Emiliana Vineyards Coyam 2007, Colchagua Valley ($34.99)
Complex attack of dark fruit and toasted spice on the nose. The juicy palate unleashes gamey flavours. Chocolate notes join the long, mineral finish. A blend of certified organic and biodynamic grapes: Syrah, Carmenère, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Mourvèdre and Petit Verdot. A match for roast lamb. (HH)
90 Santa Carolina Reserva de Familia Cabernet Sauvignon 2008, Maipo Valley ($15)
Classic aromas of cedar, blackcurrant and cassis indulge the nose. Rich cassis and ripe cherries kicks in on the full-bodied palate. The Cab Franc (5%) adds complexity and enhances the long tobacco-toned finish. Serve with hearty lamb dishes. (HH)
90 Casa Silva Los Lingues Gran Reserva Cabernet Sauvignon 2009, Colchagua Valley ($18) Fragrant aromas of leafy
62 // December 2011/January 2012
89 Cameron Hughes Syrah ‘Lot 237’ La Herradura Vineyard 2007, Napa, United States ($28) Shows amazing depth, richness and concentration with a dark and savoury character, layers of blackberry, blueberry and wild berry fruit that take on a smoky, meaty, gamy edge with hints of bacon fat. Quite full with a mouth-coating and delicious complexity and a long, rich finish that goes on and on. Needs a big hunk of red meat. (GB)
blackcurrant and spicy cassis echo as flavours on the palate. The 10% stainless steel fermentation confers freshness and juiciness. Well-balanced, ripe tannins ensure approachable drinking over the next few years. Dark black fruits linger. Suited for charcoal-grilled beef. (HH)
90 Arboleda Carmenère 2008, Colchagua Valley ($19)
Bolstered by 10% Syrah, this red bursts with fragrant red berries, spicy grilled peppers and a touch of vanilla. Tangy acidity, soft tannins and sweet ripe berries characterize the well-balanced palate. Earthy native-to-Chile boldo tea leaf throughout adds lingering complexity. Roast some root vegetables. (HH)
89 Viña Falernia Organic Syrah 2008, Limarí Valley ($14.99) Classic varietal aromas of intense violets, blueberry and red berries strike the nose. Fresh acidity and supple tannins balance well with the
rich red- and black-berried fruit. Subtle vanilla, spicy nutmeg and lingering mineral unfurl on the finish. Serve with hearty red meat dishes. (HH)
89 Concha y Toro Marques de Casa Concha Merlot 2009, Peumo, Cachapoal Valley ($20) The Carmenère (14%) adds spicy herbal notes to the predominantly floral and plum-y nose. Red plum and rich mocha flavours ride the well-balanced, plush palate. Spicy notes linger on the warm finish. A match for gourmet hamburgers. (HH)
89 Quintay Q Pinot Noir 2009, Casablanca Valley ($25)
Quintay’s “wherever the wind will take you” meaning captures its proximity to ocean breezes and accompanying briny iodine notes. Wafts of herbal, black cherry and spicy aromas tease the nose. Elegant, lingering red/ black fruit flavours fit well with its vibrant texture. Serve with ahi tuna. (HH)
88 Cono Sur Reserva Syrah 2008, Colchagua Valley ($12.95)
Deep purple colour, earthy blackcurrant with vanilla oak nose and a floral grace note; expressive blackcurrant flavours on the palate riding on lively acidity with a firm finish. Great value (TA)
/France / 89 Domaine de Belliviere Premices 2009, Loire Valley ($25)
The nose shows honey, grapefruit, lemon and white flowers. It’s simply gorgeous in the mouth with stony minerality, quince, citrus and a subtle spice note. It’s off-dry but washed in racy acidity. Perfect with spicy Asian foods. (RV)
88 J. Drouhin Chablis 2009, Burgundy ($24.95) Pale yellow. Citrus notes, chalky minerality. Lively on the palate, nice, round fatty texture of good volume and very good length. A rather fruity Chablis, easy to drink right now. (GBQc)
87 François Lurton Les Fumés Blanches Sauvignon Blanc 2010, Languedoc-Roussillon ($11.95)
François Lurton is a flying winemaker based in Bordeaux who also makes wine in Argentina, Chile, Spain and other regions of France. And he’s something of a Sauvignon Blanc specialist. This wine is very pale straw in colour with an herbaceous, green plum nose; it has a soft mouth feel and a gooseberry flavour with tart acidity. Good value. (TA)
87 Jaffelin AC 2009, Macon-Villages ($17.99)
Much better than the 2008 vintage, which was rather too lean. Bouquet shows ripe green apple with a suggestion of hazelnut and subtle spice. Clean, green apple flavour comes in a rather creamy texture backed by brisk acidity and good mineral grip. (SW)
87 Francois Mikulski Borgogne Aligoté 2009, Burgundy ($22)
Made from vines planted in 1929 to 1948, this wine is a pure expression of Aligoté with a nose of sharp citrus and mineral notes. It’s bone-dry on the palate with fresh green apple, lemon and stony minerality. Pass the oysters. (RV)
90 Château Grand Moulin La Tour 2009, Corbières, Languedoc ($13) Deep, ripe nose of black fruits (black cherry, blackberry), earthy. Oak is present but well dosed. Soft and warm, its creamy texture fills the mouth with rich fruity flavours. Delicious to drink now. (GBQc)
89 Jean-Paul Brun Côte De Brouilly 2009, Beaujolais ($18.95)
You can serve this deeply coloured wine at cellar temperature with meat or chilled with fish. On the nose you’ll experience ripe black cherries, spice, violets and an earthy note. Well structured. (TA)
89 Comtes Von Neipperg Seigneurs d’Aiguilhe 2009, Côtes de Bordeaux ($19.95)
Ruby purple. Deep nose of dark berry fruit, generous spicy oak. Gorgeous fruity taste, firm and very tight core
of ripe tannins. The velvety finish is slightly warm, with a good length. Aging potential of 4 to 5 years but it drinks well already. (GBQc)
89 Dourthe La Grande Cuvée 2008, Montagne St-Émilion, Bordeaux ($21.80)
Medium ruby. Pleasant nose of red fruits, oak and a little earth. Good intensity. Fruity and supple, it feels a tad warm on the tongue. Medium body with barely firm tannins. Ready to drink. (GBQc)
88 Château St-Martin De La Garrigue Bronzinelle 2008, Côteaux du Languedoc ($17.50)
Dark ruby. Black fruits, earthy and slightly spicy oak notes. Full body, dense fruity taste in the intense middle palate. Somewhat coarse finish of good length, a bit warm on the tongue. Drink now and over the next 2 to 3 years. (GBQc)
87 Yvon Mau Shiraz 2009, Pays de l’Aude ($8.95)
For the price this offers outstanding value although why not call it Syrah since it’s French? Deep ruby-purple in colour with a spicy black cherry and blueberry bouquet. Medium bodied, dry flavours of plum and cedar with a touch of pepper and shaping tannins. (TA)
87 Domaine du Cros (Philippe Teulier) Marcillac Cuvée Lo Sang del Pais 2010, Southwest France ($20) A somewhat rustic and backward red made from the Mansois grape. The nose reveals a basket of red fruits,
blackcurrant, pepper, liquorice and leafy-bramble notes. It’s unoaked with no discernible tannins on the palate and shows pure fruit flavours of raspberry, currants with just a touch of mint. Try with grilled lamb. (RV)
86 Bouchard Pere & Fils La Vignée Pinot Noir 2009, Burgundy ($17)
A good little introduction to the Pinot Noirs of Burgundy. The nose shows plums, cherries and wild berry notes with just a hint of spice. In the mouth, tart red fruits, spice in a balanced approach that leads to a smooth finish. Enjoy with meat pies and roasts. (RV)
/Germany / 85 Dr. Heidemanns– Bergweiler Riesling 2009, Mosel Qualitatswein ($15.99)
Rather shy scents of fresh apple and mineral, though more forthcoming on the palate with lightly sweet, ripe, apple flavour, pleasantly refreshing acidity and a touch of mineral grip. Undemanding and very easy drinking. (SW)
/Greece / 87 Sigalas Santorini 2009, Aegean Islands ($23) Pale yellow. A somewhat intriguing but penetrating nose of citrus, floral and strong mineral notes. Light body, biting acidity, liquid texture but intense and very dry. Very good length. Best drunk on a warm day for its refreshing nature, it can wait until the summer. (GBQc)
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//the notes /Israel /
87 Tzora Vineyards Neve-Ilan Chardonnay 2009, Judean Hills ($30)
Hard to imagine Chardonnay being produced in the heat of Israel, but this leading producer has crafted a warm climate Chardonnay that shows nice tropical fruits, pear and creamy vanilla notes on the nose. A hint of citrus flavours emerges on the palate to go with creamy apple, tropical fruits and spice. Surprisingly balanced. Serve with poached salmon or lobster dishes. (RV)
/Italy / 90 Bottega Extra Dry Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore, Veneto ($16.95)
Almost colourless, with persistent, tiny bubbles. Delicate nose of ripe fresh apple, minerally, slightly perfumed. Light and fresh, it has excellent presence on the palate, filling the mouth with its fruity flavours. No perceptible sweetness, there is just enough residual sugar to bring a feeling of roundness. Excellent with lightly sweet desserts. (GBQc)
90 Vie de Romans Chardonnay 2008, Friuli Isonzo ($44.95)
This stainless steel fermented Chardonnay is mineral driven with accents of apple and citrus. Crisp acid and excellent length make for a wine that is ideally suited for white fish, marinated anchovies or sashimi. (ES)
89 Sella & Mosca Capocaccia Rosso 2006, Alghero, Sardinia ($16.30) Medium ruby, orange reflections on the rim. Enticing nose of small red fruits and well-dosed spicy oak. Velvety, smooth texture with a tight core of ripe fruit. Barely firm finish of good length, nice roundness overall and ready to drink. (GBQc)
89 Tenuta Mosole Chardonnay 2010, Veneto ($20) This unoaked Chardonnay impresses with its purity of fruit. The ripe aromas of white peach, honey and flowers flow into a mouth full of apple, citrus and mineral. There is delightful concentration and persistency. Paired with eggs Benedict. (ES)
88 Torre Varano Taburno Falanghina 2009, Campania ($14.95) Pale yellow with golden
reflections. Fresh, slightly herbaceous nose with ripe pear, a raw note of quince and a touch of anise. Tame acidity, rich, fatty texture, light fruity taste. Soft finish of good length. Will pair with white meat or pasta in creamy sauce. (GBQc)
produce Brunello di Montalcino, Valpolicella and Amarone. This non-vintage sparkler has a nose of pear, citrus and white blossoms. It’s light and fresh with a touch of residual sweetness that finishes refreshingly dry. (TA)
88 Santa Margherita Brut Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore, Veneto ($17.95)
90 Petra Zingari IGT Toscana Rosso 2008, Tuscany ($16.95)
Almost colourless, tiny, persistent bubbles. Somewhat shy nose of apple. More expression in the mouth with a delicious fruity taste, light body. A tad of residual sugar makes it rounder on the tongue. Drink now. (GBQc)
87 Banfi Fumaio IGT Toscana 2009, Tuscany ($16)
The nose is a perfumed mix of fresh tropical fruit, grapefruit, passion fruit and peach with just a hint of herbs. It’s crisp and racy on the palate and through the finish. Serve with shellfish, chicken and light salads. (RV)
87 Bottega Vino Dei Poeti Prosecco, Veneto ($17)
You don’t have to spend a lot to get a good glass of sparkling wine. Sandro Bottega makes grappa as well as prosecco and now he’s branched out to
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64 // December 2011/January 2012
Expect a bouquet of cherries, black liquorice and leather with a truffle note. Full on the palate and rather supple, drinking well already, very pleasant and really well priced. Lots of flavour here. (TA)
90 Felsina Berardegna Chianti Classico 2008, Tuscany ($29.95)
A classic Chianti in both senses. Deep ruby colour, cedar and cherry nose with a spicy liquorice note, wellextracted fruit, dry and stylish with soft tannins and a fine, lingering finish. (TA)
88 Banfi Col di Sasso IGT Toscana 2008, Tuscany ($16)
A blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Sangiovese with ripe aromas of cherries, herbs, anise, pepper and oak-driven spices. In the mouth, the flavours range from smoked cherry and
blackberry fruit to an array of spices all on a bed of smooth tannins. Enjoy with pasta in tomato-based sauces. (RV)
/New / Zealand 90 Staete Landt ‘Annabel’ Sauvignon Blanc 2009, Marlborough ($23) A full-blooded Sauvignon, partially barrique-fermented in old oak giving the wine a roundness on the palate. Grassy, passion fruit nose, mouth-filling tart gooseberry and apricot flavours. A beautifully crafted wine. (TA)
88 Villa Maria Private Bin Sauvignon Blanc 2010, Marlborough ($16)
A grassy-herbaceous nose with grapefruit and gooseberry fruits. In the mouth, it’s lip-smacking good with tart citrus, kiwi and grass notes. Altogether a tangy, fresh and vibrant white that goes nicely with seafood salad, asparagus or fresh pea soup. (RV)
87 Kim Crawford Pinot Noir 2008, Marlborough ($18.95)
Pale red. Red fruits, mostly strawberry, spicy oak notes. Overall light and somewhat one-dimensional. Light to medium body, nice fruity core, soft tannins, clean finish. Ready to drink. (GBQc)
87 Villa Maria Private Bin Pinot Noir 2009, Marlborough ($20)
A lovely nose of savoury cherry, earth, mulled red fruits and spice. It’s soft and creamy on the palate with integrated red fruits and a soft, silky finish. Pairs well with duck confit. (RV)
/Portugal / 87 Quinta do Cotto Teixeiro Vinho Rosé ($15)
Fragrant, ripe red fruit perfume with a trace of mineral and refreshingly dry on the palate make this one ideal for lighter summer dishes. (SW)
87 Aveleda Follies Alvarinho 2010, Minho ($15.95)
Pale yellow. Grassy nose, very fresh and expressive, citrus notes. Quite light on the palate with a bright acidity, a lively fruity taste and medium length. Nice with grilled fish. Drink now. (GBQc)
84 José Maria da Fonseca Periquita 2007, Vinho Regional Peninsula da Setubal ($11.99)
Always a steady performer showing notes of cherry and red berry fruit with a trace of green herb and a slightly earthy overtone. Slightly tart cherry character, brisk acidity and light tannic grip make it a good match for grilled red meats, burgers and medium ripe cheeses. (SW)
/South / Africa 92 Ken Forrester Chenin Blanc ‘The FMC’ 2009, Stellenbosch ($62) Amazingly complex with a ripe, mouth-filling, creamy texture. Rich apricot, pear, nectarine, orange peel, ginger, fig and persimmon, balanced beautifully with a bright acidity with a hint of nuttiness on the lasting finish. A stunning wine and a great case for Chenin Blanc being the signature white varietal of South Africa. (GB)
89 Ken Forrester Petit Chenin Blanc 2010, Western Cape ($15.99)
Bright citrus, papaya and pineapple aromas and flavours that are focused and penetrating, great construction and just the right amount of acidity. An excellent value. (GB)
90 Ken Forrester Grenache/Syrah ‘The Gypsy’ 2007, Western Cape ($68)
Great complexity and elegance with beautiful aromas and flavours of cherry, raspberry, spice and a touch of leather, a lovely brightness, silky palate and a firm underlying structure, a refreshing minerality and a long finish. A great match with game and hard or semi-hard cheeses. (GB)
/Spain / 91 Gonzalez Byass Apostoles Palo Cortado Muy Viejo Xérès, Andalucía ($52)
This very old blend has been aged about 30 years in total, the last 10 in the unique solera system. Very hard to put in words, its nose shows notes of dried fruits, nuts, caramel and oak. Unctuous, concentrated, its taste is equally complex and hard to describe, but definitely worth trying. Unbelievable length, too. (GBQc)
90 Bodegas Argüeso San León Manzanilla Clásica Sherry, Jerez ($16.95)
Sherry, I’m convinced, will soon make a comeback. It’s the perfect pre-dinner drink and a great accompaniment for a variety of foods depending on its sweetness level. This
bone-dry offering has a nose of dried apricots, almonds and camomile. There’s a hint of saltiness on the nose; it’s fresh and lively on the palate with great length. (TA)
/United / States 90 Waterstone Cabernet Sauvignon 2006, Napa Valley, California ($31)
Ruby-garnet. Intense blackberry and other black fruits on the moderately oaky nose. So ripe it tastes almost sweet even though it is dry. Full and concentrated, it remains supple with a rich texture and an intense finish. (GBQc)
88 Folie à Deux Ménage à Trois Red 2009, California ($19.99)
A blend of 46% Zinfandel, 31% Merlot and 23% Cabernet Sauvignon. The Zinfandel really comes through in the aromas of blackberry and raspberry jam with hints of black cherries, currants and spice, while the Merlot provides a soft texture with flavours of plums and cherries, and the Cab Sauv contributes richness and an underlying structure. The tannins are quite soft, but despite the easy drinkability of this wine, it still maintains nice character and freshness. As with any good blend, the wine is quite harmonious. (GB)
86 Sokol Blosser Meditrina #6, ($20)
It’s like a Pinot Noir on steroids with juicy cherry and raspberry fruit, spice and earth on the nose. It’s bold and peppery on the palate with a bevy of dark and red fruits and a smooth finish. Serve with veal or burgers. (RV)
tidingsmag.com
\\ 65
final Word
by tony aspler
//going with the tide
In June 2008 I was invited to give the keynote address at the Atlantic Canada Wine Symposium in Wolfville, Nova Scotia. In my concluding remarks I suggested that the winemakers of the Annapolis and Gaspereau Valleys should have T-shirts made, emblazoned with the legend, “Embrace Acidity.” No other wine region of Canada has a more perfect wine style to match the local produce: think lobster, crab, oysters, scallops and salmon. What better marriage than Nova Scotia’s crisply dry white wines? The current logo for the province’s wines, incidentally, is a lobster claw holding a glass of wine; this is about to be changed since consumers “from away” are not quite sure if it’s a monster holding the glass or what. My introduction to the wines of Nova Scotia was in 1982 when I was researching the first edition of my book, Vintage Canada. There was only one boutique winery in Wolfville then, Grand Pré Wines. Roger Dial, who cut his winemaking teeth at Davis Bynum in Sonoma, started it in 1979. For his red wines Roger got two Russian Vitis amurensis varieties — Michurinetz and Severnyi — from the Summerland Agricultural Research Station in BC. From the Horticultural Research Institute in Ontario he obtained an experimental white French-American hybrid that was simply known as V-53261. In homage to the province’s history, Roger dignified it with the name of l’Acadie Blanc — the grape that is the first to ripen in Nova Scotia’s vineyards and the one that would become the signature white variety for the province.
66 // December 2011/January 2012
At the Canadian Wine Awards in Halifax this past August I tasted a 1985 l’Acadie Blanc Roger Dial made 26 years ago. When I pulled the cork there was a solid disc of tartrates in the neck that had to be pierced before the wine would flow. This fortuitous plug of tartrates had kept the wine remarkably fresh and lively. It reminded me of an old Chenin Blanc. (In 2008, I tasted Roger Dial’s Cuvée d’Amur 1983, vinified from Michurinetz, which tasted like a noble old claret. He really knew how to make wines that last. Pity we lost him to real estate.) Today, l’Acadie is generally the major constituent of a newly designated blend called Tidal Bay. Initiated for the 2010 vintage, a Tidal Bay wine is currently being produced by seven Nova Scotia wineries and, no doubt, more will jump on the bandwagon for this year’s harvest. There is no single recipe for wines under the Tidal Bay label but there are certain guidelines that must be followed. The wine cannot be more than 11 per cent alcohol; it must have a maximum of 20 grams per litre residual sugar and a minimum of eight grams per litre acidity. There are three categories of grape varieties permitted with only up to 15 per cent of aromatic varieties such as New York Muscat and Ortega allowed. To give you an idea of the range of blends, Petite Rivière Tidal Bay is a mix of Seyval Blanc, l’Acadie Blanc “and some Chardonnay.” Domaine de Grand Pré is Seyval, Vidal, l’Acadie Blanc, Muscat and Ortega. Avondale Sky is l’Acadie Blanc and Giesenheim 318. Blomidon Estate is l’Acadie Blanc, Seyval Blanc, and New York Muscat, while Gaspereau Vineyards uses Seyval, Vidal, New York Muscat and Geisenheim 318. Naturally, there are a variety of flavours under this label (it’s not like choosing unoaked Chardonnay where the flavour profile is quite narrow). The best I tasted were Benjamin Bridge Vero Tidal Bay and Gaspereau Vineyards Tidal Bay. This concept is the nearest that Nova Scotia has come to instituting an appellation system. It’s a really good start. •
illustration: FRancesco Gallé, www.francescogalle.com
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Cutty sark to come
Tidings xperience: dream visits
Ads
New world 4 old world 10 Spas 11 Xperience meter You can enhance your Xperience by visiting wineries that offer a little something more. Here is a list of added features: A: Accommodations C: Food and/or wine courses F: Free tasting M: Must visit architectural and design marvel O: Organic or sustainable practices used R: Restaurant or food served S: Spa
With 300 issues under our belt, Tidings has garnered a lot of experience. This Dream Visits supplement gathers together some of the best wineries and spas our editors and writers have had the pleasure of visiting — not that we’re bragging. Over the years, we have sought to enrich your food and wine experiences. After all, it’s thanks to you, our great readers, that Tidings has become one of North America’s top wine and food magazines.
Tidings Xperience: Dream visits Supplement is published by Kylix Media 5165 Sherbrooke St. West, Suite 414, Montreal, Quebec, H4A 1T6, Tel: 514.481.6606, Fax: 514.481.9699. www.tidingsmag.com Editor-in-chief Aldo Parise Contributing Editors Gurvinder Bhatia, Tod Stewart Contributing food Editor Nancy Johnson Contributing Lifestyle Editor Rosemary Mantini Contributors Jonathan Smithe, Rick VanSickle, Sean Wood, Harry Hertscheg, Evan Saviolidis, Gilles Bois, Michael Pinkus, Matthew Sullivan, Carolyn Evans-Hammond, Tony Aspler COPY DESK Lee Springer, Jennifer Croll Creative by Paris Associates Art Direction Aldo Parise Production ww+Labs Advertising Representation Dovetail Communications National Account Executive Jacquie Rankin: jrankin@dvtail.com, 905-886-6640 ext 304 © 2011 Kylix Media Inc. Printed in Canada on 100% recycled paper. Tidings, Food & Wine Magazine, a registered trademark of Kylix Media, is published 8 times a year: (February/March, April, May/June, July/August, September, October, November, December/January). Opinions expressed in this magazine are not necessarily those of the publisher. ISSN-0228-6157. Publications Mail Registration No. 40063855. Member of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business.
dream visits \\ 3
new world
Argentina
Mauricio Lorca Winery Lujà n de Cuyo, Perdriel www.mauriciolorca.com Bodegas Y ViÑedos O. Fournier San Carlos, Mendoza www.ofournier.com x: R M
Australia
Briar Ridge Vineyard Mount View, Hunter Valley www.briarridge.com.au x: A R
Chapman Grove Wines Margaret River, Western Australia www.chapmangrove.com.au Geoff Hardy Wines Kuitpo, South Australia www.k1.com.au x: M
Peter Lehmann Wines Tanunda, Barossa Valley www.peterlehmannwines.com x: R M
Songlines Estates McLaren Vale, South Australia www.songlinesestates.com.au 4 \\ Tidings xperience \\ www.tidingsmag.com
Westend Estate Wines Griffith, New South Wales www.westendestate.com.au
Canada
Angel’s Gate Winery Beamsville, Ontario www.angelsgatewinery.com x: R
Domaine de grande Pré Grande Pré, Nova Scotia www.grandprewines.ns.ca x: R M
jackson triggs
Hillebrand Estates Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario www.hillebrand.com x: R M
Inniskillin Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario www.inniskillin.com Jackson-Triggs Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario www.jacksontriggswinery.com
See Ya Later Ranch Okanagan Falls, BC www.sylranch.com x: R
Sumac Ridge Summerland, BC www.sumacridge.com x: R
Chile
India
x: R M
x: A R M
ViÑa La Rosa Peumo, Cachapoal Valley www.larosa.cl
Mexico
Concha y Toro Pirque, Cordillera www.conchaytoro.com
x: M
Nk’mip Osoyoos, BC www.nkmipcellars.com x: R M
Vineland Estates Vineland, Ontario www.vineland.com x: M
ViÑa Montes’ Apalta Vineyard Santa Cruz, Colchagua Valley www.monteswines.com
Sula Vineyards Nashik, Maharashtra www.sulawines.com
L.A. Cetto’s Tijuana Winery Tijuana, Baja California www.cettowines.com
x: M dream visits \\ 5
South Africa
Ataraxia Wines Hermanus, Western Cape www.ataraxiawines.co.za High Constantia Winery Constantia, Western Cape www.highconstantiawines.co.za Nederburg Daljosafat, Paarl www.nederburg.co.za
United States
Castoro Cellars Templeton, Paso Robles www.castorocellars.com
Domaine Drouhin Dayton, Oregon www.domainedrouhin.com
x: R
Chateau St Jean Kenwood, California www.chateaustjean.com
Francis Ford Coppola Winery Geyserville, California www.franciscoppolawinery.com
Bonny Doon Santa Cruz, California www.bonnydoonvineyard.com
Burgess Cellars St Helena, California www.burgesscellars.com Caduceus Cellars Jerome, Arizona www.caduceus.org
x: R M
x: R M
Chateau Ste Michelle Woodinville, Washington www.ste-michelle.com x: C
Frank Family Vineyards Calistoga, California www.frankfamilyvineyards.com
Castello di Amorosa Calistoga, California www.castellodiamorosa.com
Darioush Napa, California www.darioush.com
Hanzell Vineyards Sonoma, California www.hanzell.com
x: M
x: M
x: M
Nitida Cellars Durbanville, Western Cape www.nitida.co.za x: R
flat rock
6 \\ Tidings xperience \\ www.tidingsmag.com
Jordan Ontario www.flatrockcellars.com
The simple, glass encased tasting bar offers year round enjoyment of the grounds — and wines. Ask for Ed Madronich, President and founder of Flat Rock Cellars, to walk you through the winery and find out more about the 5 level gravity flow system. To explore your inner winemaker, book the WMB seasonal series to prune or help pick the grapes. Look into the unique WMB blending session.
West Kelowna Okanagan Valley BC www.missionhillwinery.com
Breath-taking scenery and architecture are the hallmark of this esteemed Okanagan winery. With a number of B&Bs within walking distance of the winery, you can make this first visit on your tour of Kelowna. During the summer months a number of outdoor concerts are held in the amphitheatre. There are also a number of impressive culinary workshops held throughout the year.
mission hill
dream visits \\ 7
Peter Lehmann
Moon Mountain Sonoma, California www.moonmountainvineyard.com Opus One Oakville, California www.opusonewinery.com x: Appointment Only
Pride Mountain Vineyard St Helena, California www.pridewines.com Quintessa Wine St Helena, California www.quintessa.com Hedges Family Estate Benton City, Washington www.hedgesfamilyestate.com
Jarvis Winery Napa, California www.jarviswines.com
Kuleto Estate St Helena, California www.kuletoestate.com
Jordan Winery Healdsburg, California www.jordanwinery.com
Ladera Vineyards Angwin, California www.laderavineyards.com
x: F
Hogue Prosser, Washington www.hoguecellars.com
Ironstone Vineyards Murphys, California www.ironstonevineyards.com
x: R
Joseph Phelps Vineyards St Helena, California www.jpvwines.com x: O C
x: R M
8 \\ Tidings xperience \\ www.tidingsmag.com
Lancaster Estate Healdsburg, California www.lancaster-estate.com Medlock Ames Healdsburg, California www.medlockames.com
x: M
Quixote Winery Napa, California www.quixotewinery.com x: M O
Schramsberg Vineyards Calistoga, California www.schramsberg.com Sokol Blosser Winery Dayton, Oregon www.sokolblosser.com
Soter Vineyards Carlton, Oregon www.sotervineyards.com x: Appointment Only
Spring Mountain Vineyard St Helena, California www.springmountainvineyard.com Shafer Vineyards Napa, California www.shafervineyards.com
stratus
x: Appointment Only
Steltzner Napa, California www.steltzner.com Willamette Valley Vineyards Turner, Oregon wvv.com WĂślffer Estate Sagaponack, Long Island www.wolffer.com
Niagara-on-the-Lake Ontario www.stratuswines.com
At the heart of this LEED-certified contemporarily designed winery is the idea that assemblage is the key to modern winemaking. The building is subtle and soft — a true church to the art of wine. Plus it is located right next to another architectural gem, Jackson Triggs. Take a walk around the outdoor terrace while enjoying a glass of the signature Stratus Red. Joining the assemblage wine club gives you an exclusive opportunity to taste the individual barrel lots before the final Stratus White and Red are assembled. dream visits \\ 9
Austria
Champagne Gardet Chigny-les-Roses, Champagne www.champagne-gardet.com
Château de Sours Saint-Quentin-de-Baron, Bordeaux www.chateaudesours.com
x: M
Château Canet Rustiques, LanguedocRousillon www.chateaucanet.com
x: M A
Weingut Höpler Winden, Burgenland www.hoepler.at
France
Cave Vinicole Hunawihr Hunawihr, Alsace www.cave-hunawihr.com
x: A M
Château GrandPuy-Lacoste Pauillac, Bordeaux www.haut-batailley.fr
Château Moncontour Vouvray, Loire www.moncontour.com x: Wine Museum
Château Vignelaure Rians, Provence www.vignelaure.com Clos Cantenac Saint-Émilion, Bordeaux www.closcantenac.com Domaine des Romarins Domazan, Côtes du Rhône www.domaine-des-romarins.com Domaine Vincent Pinard Sancerre, Loire www.domaine-pinard.com J.M Monmousseau Montrichard, Loire www.monmousseau.com
old world 10 \\ Tidings xperience \\ www.tidingsmag.com
Le Closel Château des Vaults Savennières, Loire www.savennieres-closel.com Masson-Blondelet Pouilly-sur-Loire, Loire www.masson-blondelet.com x: O
Greece
Santos Wines Santorini www.santowines.gr
Italy
Altesino Montalcino, Tuscany www.altesino.it
Elena Walch Tramin, Alto Adige www.elenawalch.com x: R
Castello di Ama Siena, Tuscany www.castellodiama.com
Fontodi Panzano, Tuscany www.fontodi.com
x: Contemporary Art
x: O A
Exhibits
Castello di Brolio Siena, Tuscany www.ricasoli.it x: A M R
Ceretto Aziende Vitivinicole Alba, Piedmont www.ceretto.com x: M
Le Caniette Ripatransone, Marche www.lecaniette.it Nardini Distillery Bassano del Grappa, Veneto www.nardini.it Ornellaia Bolgheri, Tuscany www.ornellaia.com x: Appointment Only
Corte d’Aibo Monteveglio, Emilia-Romagna www.cortedaibo.it x: A
Domodimonti Montefiore dell’Aso, Marche www.domodimonti.com
Planeta’s Cantina Ulmo Sambuca Di Sicilia, Sicily www.planeta.it Querciabella Greve, Tuscany www.querciabella.com x: O
x: A O R M
Donatella Cinelli Colombini’s Fattoria il Colle Estate Siena, Tuscany www.cinellicolombini.it x: A R C
Tenuta di Capezzana Carmignano, Tuscany www.capezzana.it x: C M
Tenuta Cocci Grifoni Ripatransone, Marche www.tenutacoccigrifoni.it
spas
Les Sources de Caudalie
Bordeaux-Martillac, France www.sources-caudalie.com Located among the vineyards of Château Smith-Haut-Lafitte, Les Sources offers bathing in grape marc — giving you a new outlook on cognac. The 50-minute facial treatment is a real … treat.
Patios de Cafayate Winespa
Cafayate, Salta, Argentina www.winespagroup.com The location will send you into immediate relaxation. Grape treatments abound. The Grape Syrup exfoliant will get you ready for the next couple of days of wine tours in the Calchaquí Valley.
Adler Thermae Spa Resort
San Quirico d’Orcia, Siena, Italy www.adler-thermae.com At the centre of Tuscany’s rolling hills and vibrant vineyards, the Adler Thermae offers a myriad of massages and organic grape exfoliation. You’ll drink up the wine bath and the Brunello Envelopment. Make sure to take some time for a side trip to the beautiful Bagno Vignoni — a UNESCO world heritage site.
Wine Spa Peralada
Girona, Spain www.wine-spa.com You’ll enjoy the White Wine Essences Shower. After you are truly relaxed book a foursome at the 18 hole golf course next door. Well, maybe you should do it before walking into the spa.
Santé Winelands
Paarl-Franschhoek Valley, South Africa www.santesa.co.za Santé sits on a 160-acre working wine estate in the Paarl/ Franschhoek Valley. We highly recommend the VinAqua Vine Therapy or the Theravine treatment. Interested in little fish nibbling your toes, ask for the Doctor Fish therapy. dream visits \\ 11
Tenuta Col d’Orcia Montalcino, Tuscany www.coldorcia.it
Villa di Maser Maser, Veneto www.villadimaser.it x: M R
Tenute Piccini’s Fattoria di Valiano Siena, Tuscany www.tenutepiccini.it
Villa Vignamaggio Chianti, Tuscany www.vignamaggio.it x: A
Villa Calcinaia Greve, Tuscany www.conticapponi.it
Portugal
Bacalhôa’s Quinta dos Loridos Winery Bombarral, Leiria www.bacalhoa.com
Luis Pato Amoreira Da Gândara, Aveiro www.luispato.com X: C; Appointment
recommended
x: M
Caves Aliança Sangalhos, Aveiro www.alianca.pt x: M; Underground Art
Museum
x: A
Niepoort Vila Nova de Gaia, Porto www.niepoort-vinhos.com Quinta do crasto Sabrosa, Vila Real www.quintadocrasto.pt
relais san Maurizio Santo Stefano Belbo Piedmont Italy www.relaissanmaurizio.it
Food and wine are a huge part of this resort spa. The Grotta del Sale is an exhilarating combination of mineralized water and salt arriving from the Cagliari saltworks in Sardinia. If the weather fares well, there are several 18 hole golf courses around the corner. 12 \\ Tidings xperience \\ www.tidingsmag.com
Radda in Chianti tuscany Italy www.volpaia.com
Most of us have dreamt of renting a villa in the heart of Tuscany. Volpaia has four villas and five apartment complexes for rent. Make this your piedà-terre while touring storied Chianti or taking a cooking class inside the castle walls. You can purchase honey, wine vinegar or extra virgin olive oil from the wine shop. You can also stay at La Locanda, a rustic hotel with a swimming pool overlooking the vineyards.
castello di volpaia
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dream visits \\ 13
Spain
Bodegas Lar de Paula Álava, Rioja www.lardepaula.com
Clos Montblanc Barbera de la Conca, Tarragona www.closmontblanc.com
Finca Antigua Los Hinojos, Cuence www.familiamartinezbujanda.com
Marques de Riscal Elciego, Álava www.marquesderiscal.com
x: M
x: M A S R
Bodegas Los Aljibes wChinchilla de Montearagon, Albacete www.fincalosaljibes.com
Codorníu Sant Sadurní d’Anoia, Alt Penedès www.codorniu.es
Finca Constancia Otero, Toledo www.gonzalezbyass.com
Osborne’s Malpica Winery Toledo, Toledo www.osborne.es
x: M; Appointment
recommended
Freixenet Sant Sadurní d’Anoia, Alt Penedès www.freixenet.es
x: M
Bodegas Valduero Burgos, Ribera del Duero www.bodegasvalduero.com
loisium world of wine
Langenlois Lower Austria www.loisium.at
Visit this intriguing wine museum woven through a labyrinth of the old wine cellars. Since it is not linked to one specific winery, you can taste and buy wines from the eight wine growing regions of Lower Austria. An exquisitely designed hotel and spa are located around the corner. A great place for bikers or hikers.
14 \\ Tidings xperience \\ www.tidingsmag.com
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