In This Section:
Festive Wine Recipes That Will Spice It Up
Gathering Wines For A Great 2012
Time To Get Serious About Tasting
Festive Wine Recipes That Will Spice It Up
originally published December 21st, 2011 - The Northern View
Over the next few weeks why not try serving up
your wine in some traditional holiday inspired cocktails. With New Years Eve right around the corner
most people will be toasting with some sparkling wines; a wonderful alternative
and chic twist to this holiday favourite is to dress up your sparkling wine as
a punch cocktail. Another classic cold
weather favourite is mulled wine which is a combination of warmed wine and
spices; this is a holiday treat that will also fill your house with a wonderful
spicy smell that is super seasonal. Below
are a couple of basic recipes that are guidelines for you to create your own
festive recipe tweaked to your taste. So
have fun and enjoy some wine cocktails with friends.
Sparkling wine punch – as an alternative to the
regular champagne at midnight moment, a sparkling wine punch can be just as
perfect and still get served up nicely in those champagne flutes. A perfect punch can be made by combining one
bottle of dry white sparkling wine, white cranberry juice and either soda water
or sprite depending on how much sweetness you are looking for. A lovely garnish for this drink is some
cranberries and strawberry slices.... and in the case you are looking for some
extra punch in your cocktail you can always spike this with some blueberry
vodka or lychee liquor.
Mulled wine – so this is an old world classic that
is a serious crowd pleaser. The
quantities listed are just a guideline, as you try this recipe you can adjust
to your palate, and you will find that the flavour changes slightly depending
on the base wine that you use. I would
recommend finding a low tannin wine that has fruity characteristics like a
merlot. This is also the perfect recipe
to use a boxed or homemade wine as well.
Warm up a litre of red wine, but don’t let it boil. Add about 2/3 cup of sugar and 1/3 cup of
Brandy, about 8 cloves, 2 sticks of cinnamon, a hefty grating of fresh ginger
and some allspice. Zest some orange peel
into your wine mixture and slice up the entire orange and add it into your
brew. The wine should warm for about 25
minutes, and the sugar should dissolve completely. For serving, use a ladle and leave the
seasonings behind.
Here are two wines that would make perfect
starters for these recipes:
Barefoot Bubbly Pinot Grigio -
A nice, fresh, clean nose with a little bit of melon and leafy tree
blossoms. The palate doesn’t show much
of a dominant flavour – it is a pleasant blend of upfront citrus sweetness,
balanced acidity and lasting effervescence.
86/100 (September 2nd, 2011)
Painted Turtle Merlot
– 12.5% alc/vol [British Columbia]
A simple nose with only one layer – dusty fruit the palate is more favourable
with a very light body, low tannins and clean flavours of light earth and
oak. 85/100 $9.49 [BC Liquor Stores]
(March 24, 2011)
Gathering Wines For A Great 2012
originally published January 7th, 2012 - The Northern View
Well it’s the new year and time to set some goals.
. I have a few wine goals in mind this
year. I would really like to taste 100
new wines that I haven’t tried before and I would like for at least 50 of them
to be Canadian. So I guess I will be
looking to open 2 new bottles a week. I
might have to throw a wine tasting party or two and that would help speed
things along.
One of the most difficult parts for me will be
finding all new wines. Many of the
Canadian wines found in the stores of retailers around the province are
non-vintage wines. This means that the
wine doesn’t have a vintage year, and should / will taste the same every
time. I will be looking for new vintages
of great wines I have tried in the past and I will also be looking at joining
some private wine clubs. Wine clubs are
available at many commercial wineries in BC.
For an annual fee, the winery will ship out a selection of wines that
they make. Many of the wines that are
available in wine clubs are not for sale at retailer locations across the
province. Sometimes the wines are
produced in small lots or simply aren’t selected by retailers to sell.
Another interesting way that I collect wines to
try is from generous and helpful family and friends. Since most of family and many of my friends
live in Ontario, they always offer to pick up some Ontario wines when they are
coming to visit. This is especially nice
since most Ontario wines never leave the province, making them quite difficult
to get in a place like Prince Rupert.
I also get a chance to try new wines when I am
dining out. Many agents and wineries
sell their wines to restaurants and make some of their wines only available in
this channel. There are even some up and
coming celebrity chefs throughout the province who are creating their own
blends at the winery and making them available in their restaurants. It’s gets a little expensive trying all your
wines in this setting, but totally worth it when you get a chance to try
something you couldn’t taste otherwise.
Here are a couple of wines that are great to kick
off your 2012 wine drinking journey, enjoy.
Leon de Tarapaca – 13% alc/vol [Chile]
A bright sunny nose that hits hard with breezy grass notes and sweet
pineapples. The flavours are clean with
dull citrus and field hay. A touch of
acid upfront gives this wine a nice tartness and palate cleansing
qualities. 88/100 (November 7th,
2011)
See Ya Later Ranch Ping 2007 – [British Columbia]
A warm, summer, jammy nose with sweet cherries and raspberries. Fruit forward
flavours of blackberries and star anise that finishes with smooth, tiny
tannins. A nice herbaceous aftertaste. Lovely when paired with rare roasts, dark
chocolate or sharp cheeses. 90/100
(September 21st, 2011)
Time To Get Serious About Tasting
originally published February 8th, 2012 - The Northern View
I spend a significant amount of time on my wine
passions. Keeping a wine diary,
evaluating the wines I drink, writing about wine and growing a show piece
cellar that is stocked full of fabulous bottles to share with all the people I
love. One of the most interesting things
that I have noticed recently is that I am spending more and more of my time
applying the same skills to all my culinary adventures.
My nose works overtime these days; hypersensitive
to seemingly everything around. Honestly
– it’s making me much better at tasting wine, detecting and identifying smells
in all that I encounter, and just enjoying life. Not to get too deep, but if you aren’t
smelling and soaking in all the beautiful smells that surround us in life – you
are truly missing out. I certainly
haven’t paid much attention to this for a great deal of my life and it was to
my own detriment.
I have had a few moments in my past that have
opened my eyes and my nose to the experience.
I find it quite interesting how a particular smell can actually trigger
a memory and bring you back to a place that you might not have thought about in
years. Smells can also be a very
powerful appetite builder. Many people
know the expression that you eat with your eyes first; but have you ever woken
up to the smell of fresh baking bread or walked into the door while dinner is
cooking on the stove? Smells can engage
us well before we ever actually see the food or meal we are about to eat.
As a fun exercise, for the whole week, close your
eyes and take in two deep breaths of the food you plan to eat this week before
you take you first bite. While you are
breathing in your weeks’ meals think about what you are smelling and try to identify
the different components that you have just cooked with or added to your
meal. This week I have chosen two wines
that I find quite engaging in the nose.
Cheers.
Le Vieux Pin ‘Feenies Blend’ 2009 – 13.9% alc/vol
[British Columbia]
A floral nose with lots of complexity. A
sweet clean smell that shows off a little gooseberry and white peach. There is a distinct yeasty quality to the
taste of this wine that really plays out in a long finish. Initially the wine hits some sweetness with
pineapple and macintosh apple cider.
Very enjoyable all on its own due to its sheer depth of character. 94/100
Estancia Chardonnay 2003
Buttered bread, lime and a nice touch of oak that is quite pronounced on this
wine. Easy to enjoy, this wine has nice
round flavours that compliment both salty and savoury foods well. Medium bodied with a medium finish that
leaves the taste of toasted corn. 82/100
