Uncork The Knowledge

A Tasting Of Surprises!

 Recently I had some friends over for a night of wine tasting and food pairings.There were some interesting wines that came thru the door and I was thrilled to see how they would pair with the snacky foods I had prepared!

 We started the night with a glass of Segura Viudas Cava ( a personal favourite of mine ) I suggested some regular potato chips and some smoked salmon topped with capers.They both paired very well - a sparkler will go with just about everything!! It was a great way to start the evening,but then there is no wrong time for a bottle of Cava!

Kim brought a bottle of Sutter Home White Zinfandel - it is her favourite and who am I to tell her what to drink?! There were a few people that enjoyed it and besides we all have had a bottle or two in years gone by!!

Next were two Chardonnay's - There was an 2007 unoaked from Coyote Run in Niagara and an 2008 oaked Robert Mondavi from California. Those of you that know me-know that I don't get along very well with Chardonnays,especially the oaked ones!!

Much to my surprise both wines showed very well.The oaked Mondavi was buttery with sutle hints of oak and vanilla,with citrus on the finish,complimenting the salmon and taking the edge off  the 5 year old white cheddar I had. The Niagara chardonnay had a very pretty nose with pineapple,minerality and hints of figs.The palate followed adding some pear and melon with great acidity - which made it a perfect pairing with the baked brie covered with fig balsminic marinade. Many thanks to Sid and Diane - you just may have changed my mind about chardonnays!!!

Sherrie brought a 2008 Gewurztraminer from Pelee Island- the nose is full of lychee and spice and mango and peaches on the palate - I had some goat cheese stuffed lychee nuts topped with a few spiced peanuts which seemed to add a little more to the wine!

The first red of the night was a 2007 Merlot Winemaker's Select from Blackstone Winery in California. It literally blew me away!! Yes my friends I have found a merlot I like!!! It was the biggest surprise of the evening,and maybe even  my new found favourite!!

It was opaque and a beautiful dark cherry in colour with legs that clung to the glass and a rim variation that showed a nice concentration.The nose was "sexy" with oak and black raspberries and yes a hint of "barnyard".The palate revealed byng cheeries,dark fruits,chocolate and earthiness with firm tannins and a finish that went on forever, I found this wine well balanced and complex and with the shitake mushroom crostinis very very enjoyable. Tanya - thank you for sharing this wine with the group! I love surprised A ha moments!!! And you certainly got one out of me!!

Carmen brought a 2009 Merlot/Cab from Italy - it was okay for being so young and definitely needs a little time but faired well with the kielbasa and aged cheddar.

Jenn brought a 2006 Tempranillo blend from Spain which just so happens to be my house wine! I love Spain and besides she will never disappoint you!!!

We ended the tasting with a 2004 Dow's LBV Port.I had some dark chocolate and walnuts which brought out the nuttiness of the wine,but myself I preferred it with the Roquefort blue cheese. They are a perfect match!!! And usually my desert!!!

A couple other bottles were opened and enjoyed as we sat and talked about the evening and the wines that were enjoyed.A sauv blanc from Jackson Triggs Delainye's Vineyard and a merlot/cab from France - which I finished as the glasses were washed and the remments of a great night were picked up and put away! I love it when I can share my passion with my friends and hope they have as great a time as I do!

Thank you it was a great night shared with great friends!!

A SPECIAL BOTTLE OF WINE OR "12"

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We all have a special bottle of wine that we just can't part with even after it has been tasted and throughly enjoyed! There are several different reasons for hanging on to these bottles - special occasions,special vintage,or the company that shared that bottle with you!!

I am terrible for hanging on to them for sentimental reasons - usually it is the name that catches me! So in my kitchen I have what I like to call my "trophy rack".

As you can see the labels are easy to read and sometimes I even get bragging rights with some of them!! It is definitely a conversation piece!

Right now most of the bottles are from our grad dinner in NOTL.. Yes I brought them all home - remember I need the labels for the collage!!!

If there is an interesting wine that you guys think should have a place in my trophy rack let me know!!

Cheers!!

HARROW FOOD AND WINE SHOW

 Friday night my girlfriend ( a fellow Master Taster graduate ) and I attended the Harrow Food and Wine Show. The tickets said it was the 17th annual - but the first one we have attended!

 We arrived promptly at 7pm and paid our $20.00 - which entitled us to unlimited tastes and of wine and amazing food. Almost all of our local wineries were in attendance, 12 of the 14 were pouring their favourite wines, along with 4 local restaurants ,the dairy association and 1 very talented lady that can do wonders with chocolate and pretzels!

 It was a great opportunity to talk to the winery owners,winemakers and their retail personal and a good way to put faces to names,and to see friends we haven't seen in a while. It was nice to finally meet you Gary!!

There was llive music and some very nice door prizes - of course I didn't win!  The 2 hours fly by and before we knew it - it was time to head back to Windsor. As we were saying our good-byes a fellow classmate came up to us with a huge smile on his face and told us he was in an extremely good mood! He told us he had entered 14 wines into a competition and 8 of them medaled - 2 of which placed gold!!

Congratulations Scott - may huge success follow!!

The event was a lot of fun - We have some great wineries and some excellent wine produced in the area! Drive out and give them a try!

Thank you to Lonnie and Nate for showing up in your tux and tails although the event was already first class in my books!!

Cheers!

 

Wine Label Mania

 Looking around at all the wine bottles that I can't bare to throw away - I came up with an idea of a collage!  I thought it would be very cool to have a framed memory of the wine I have enjoyed with great friends!

The trick now would be to get the labels off the bottles in one piece! So after searching the web and asking my very knowledgeable friends on their know how and trying many different ideas, I finally found one that worked.

Holding the bottle under hot running water for approx 30 secs - then drying the  label and covering it with clear packing tape - press down and remove slowly and gently!!! The label comes off in one piece and also will be laminated for years of protection!!!

The labels are piling  up quickly and I am excited to get them under glass: although I have a huge task at hand as the frame I have chosen is poster size!!       

 Are there any volunteers to help me add a few more labels to the collection?!

Master Taster Grad Trip To Niagara

  My passengers and I started out early Friday morning excited about our weekend away! What a better way to celebrate the end of classes and hopes of a new career than a weekend in Niagara's wine country!

 Special thanks go out to John and Esther - they made sure it was a first class weekend! From the vintage hotel and a graduation dinner that made me step back and say Wow! To the fabulous venues of wineries that welcomed us and treated us like VIP'S. It was a great way to get used to our new found credentials and enjoy some amazing wine.

Arriving in Niagara a day early,we decided to visit a few wineries and maybe do a little sightseeing!! Our first stop was Inn on the Twenty for lunch - it was delicious and we loved the fact that tastes of wine could be purchased as well as a glass! The Master Tasters in us loved this as we found ourselves pairing the perfect wine with our lunch!

We visited Cave Springs and a few of the local shops before heading to Calamus, a hidden treasure in my opinion! They welcomed us with friendly hello's and were very eager to hear about LENS (Lake Erie North Shore). I really enjoyed the Cabernet Franc and of course purchased a bottle ot two! Steve the winemaker treated us with barrel samples of his own label NYARAI and we were able to purchase a few bottles of it as well!

Flat Rock Cellars was next - a very friendly and knowledgeable employee greeted us and offered a tour of the facility. Truely a worthwhile and very interesting stop! Seriously Twisted was the favourite wine here!

Hillebrand was next on the route - we didn't spend much time here,but we were able to check out the private dining room.it is definately a WOW!!

Konzelmann was our last stop as it was getting late and they were getting ready to close,but Jeremy took care of us and made a few good sales.Which in reality that is what it is really all about!!

We were greeted with the same friendly hospitality as we checked into our hotel at the Queen's Landing.  Once settled in our room we opened a bottle of wine and got ready for a light dinner at one of the local pubs,where I met some new friends,enjoyed live music and a lot of laughter!!

Saturday morning we met the rest of the group at the Niagara College where we were given a tour of the new facility and a private tasting of their wines.Deans List Pinot Noir was my fav here!!! Dominic Caruso and John Carnahan handed out our Master Taster certificates! It was a proud moment for all of us!

Stratus was next - very impressive and state of the art.But I think my favourite of the day was Lailey. Ed was great and treated us to different barrel samples of chardonnay,and an amazing pinot noir that hasn't been released yet!

Le Cloe Jordanne welcomed us at Jackson Triggs - our tasting took place in their barrel room. Anne Marie was very informative and shared some great wines! She is heading to New Zealand to help with the harvest.We wish you the best of luck in your new adventure and thank  you for the wonderful bottle of pinot noir you shared with us!

We were anxious to get back to the hotel and our graduation dinner. The food was amazing and the wine was perfectly  matched.Thank you Caroline for the bottle of Goldeneye - it paired with my sea bass perfectly! Special thanks to our chef Aaron and our fellow MT waitress Jill. You both added to our wonderful night!

Sunday mid morning found us at HOP where Dan Speck ( owner) greeted us with one of their sparklers and a toast to the first cohort of MT out of the LENS area! There was a grand tour and a tasting in their new and very impressive barrel room.Thank you for the Baco Dan Speck!!

Malivore and Pennisula Ridge were the last two wineries of our weekend and they did not disappoint us.I loved the fact that cheese tastings were available at Penn Ridge and I left with a nice wedge of Manchego!

What a weekend - I am very happy that we could all be together and celebrate our passion and new title as Master Tasters!!

Once again thank you to John and Esther and the wineries that we visited - you guys made our weekend very enjoyable!!

Cheers!!

 

Tastings With Special Friends Are The Best Kind!

One warm summer night in late September a few of us from class (we are now Master Tasters) got together with a few bottles of our choice of wines. Some were favourites and some were meant to be shared with great friends!  I remember this night as it was the weekend before we were to write the final for our wine and food dynamic class. What great practice we thought!! Good food and great wine shared with awesome friends what a great studying tool?

Our host had various types of salami's and cheeses (my favourite was the cloth covered cheddar from PEI), there was arguala and mushroom crustini's and the most perfect BBQ'ed rare steaks that I have seen or tasted in a long time!!

The wines started to emerge and much to our surprise there was a nice mix of sparklers,chardonnays,pinot noirs,fume blancs,muscats and of course bordeaux blends!! We would be visiting Alsace,California,Prince Edward County,Niagara,British Colombia and the Santa Lucia Highlands! Wow what a night! And where to start? - decisions decisions decisions!!!

With a sparkler of course! So we popped the cork of a Rose Crement from Alsace - Toasted to a grand evening and moved the gathering to the outside patio..

The BBQ was lit and we thought the perfect match would be Opus One 2003 from Cali and or Ocullus 2003 from British Colombia!! Now we had to discuss the WHY - we were studying remember!!!  The wines were perfect and did not disappoint as we found the protein in the steaks softened the tannins in the Ocullus and the Opus seemed to round out to a beautiful balanced wine. I remember telling the group that Opus was feminine and sexy where Ocullus was strong and masculine!! We still make reference to that perfect food match!!

As the night progressed and many more wines were tasted - it was fun to see how we could all see,smell and taste something different . Sometimes there was a debate or two but it was always friendly and in the end there was an agreement on style and taste!!  There was a lot of "wine speak" and laughter and even a sneak peak at Michaels cellar!! I personally thank - you for that!!

The evening was drawing to a close with Ports, Cognacs and some Ice Wines - the perfect end to a perfect night!!

With our gracious thank-you's to our host - we said good-bye and wished everyone good luck on the upcoming exam!!

Thank you Michael for a great evening!! See you at the next tasting!!

Thank you to my great friends that make each tasting more special than the last!!! I miss Monday nights how about you guys??

 

 

Tracie’s beliefs

Wine is a story in a glass.....

Hi Everyone!

 I have heard alot about this site - so I thought it would be interesting to join in in the fun!! I am a very new member to the wine world as this winter I have earned my Master Taster certification thru Niagara College but taught off campus at one of our local wineries.. Viewpointe.

 It was a challenging 2 1/2 years but well worth it! Every class we learned something new and there was always an interesting wine to enjoy.

Tonight I am enjoying a 2007 Cabernet Franc from CREW ( Colchester Ridge Estate Winery ). It was't at all what I expected.. there wasn't that tell tale Essex County bell pepper on the nose but instead cherries and hints of spice all tied together with aromas of oak and some earthiness.

On the palate there is medium tannin and good acidity. The palate follows the nose with cherries and spice and hints of coffee on the long balanced finish.

I enjoyed breaded porkchops with sauteed mushrooms with cracked black pepper with this wine - the mushrooms brought out the earthiness and the pepper complimented the spiceness to the wine.

I will certainly be visiting CREW again in the near future for a few more bottles of this easy drinking but slightly elegant wine!!