Humble dinner, nothing really...

Just look at that coq au vin. Doesn't it make you want to just leap through the screen and gobble up every little bit? It was just that good, kittens, no lie. And my first time making it too! Seriously, if you've never made coq au vin, you should. It's not hard. It's actually kind of humble. And while you're hovering over your stovetop, slowly reducing the fragrant concoction of wine, chicken stock, herbs and butter into a delicious sauce, you can giggle and natter away with a friend over a glass of wine (or two). This is an excellent way to spent a late Sunday afternoon. Don't take my word for it, do it next week and you'll see. Also, I think all of that steamy wine vapour that billows upwards from the sautee pan is good for your complextion (not really, but you can use that as your excuse as you greedily huff the wine-scented steam with your face 8" from the burner).

So traditionally you'd fill your glass with Burgundy to wash down your coq au vin. I would have settled for any nice Pinot Noir, French or otherwise. Fat chance. There were 3--count 'em, THREE--varieties of Pinot Noir available at our crummy LCBO. How sad is that? More Cabernet Sauvignon than you could wave a manure-filled cow horn at, but Pinot Noir? Forget it, dream on. This seriously gives me the grumpies. Curse you, LCBO! I settled for a bottle of Merlot/Pinot Noir blend called Flourish. A 2009 vintage on sale for $10, I didn't have high hopes. The picture on the bottle was pretty though. I scooped up another bottle as a backup plan: Montsant Latria 2006 from Spain.




Thank goodness for the backup plan. Flourish was an ultra purple syrup suitable for treating chest congestion. Seriously, I've never seen a wine so Crayola purple! Not yummy. Phleh.

The Latria, however, was totally yummy. A blend of Grenache and Carignan, it was a nice balance of fruit and spice. It reminded me of rhubarb chutney. This would be a very good choice for Thanksgiving, people, and only around $18 to boot, so hustle your gustle to the store and buy some before it all goes away.

Good news sweetie peaches! Karen and I are definately road tripping to Niagara's wine region a week from Tuesday. Squeee! Those empty spots on my wine rack will be plugged in with some of the best Ontario has to offer. Colour me happy!

'Til next time!

B.

Late-Night Ketchup

Too long since the last post, I know. Is it because I haven't been drinking wine? No! Is it because I don't love you anymore? No! My lack of posting is entirely due to my crazy work schedule of late, which leaves me as lively as a dishrag at the end of the day. Fortunately for you, I have insomnia, so what better time to play catchup and fill you in on the wines I've been tasting.

Let's get the baddies out of the way first. I've been craving a well-made Pinot Noir lately, and have had spotty luck. If you're breezing by the Vintages section at your LCBO and come across Rodney Strong's Estate Vineyards 2008 or Mike Weir Wine's VQA Niagara Peninsula 2008 Pinot Noir, let that breeze blow you right on by. The Rodney Strong was a but thin and unbalanced to my palate, and the Mike Weir was downright bitter.

Not to be discouraged I turned to Burgundy to find a better example of that fickle grape, and came out of the store with Le Bourgogne Chanson Pinot Noir. Much better than the previous two examples, this is a nice, light-bodied Pinot Noir, with pleasing minerality and just enough acidity to make it nice and thirst quenching. Cherry and smoke were the predominant flavours that wandered up my nose.

I had dinner last night with one of my true loves, Juanita. Juanita is one of my nearest and dearest, who works a mere few doors down from me but I never see enough of. Well we remedied that by having dinner at the Explorer's Cafe last night, and what a glorious night for a sensory driven woman in her mid to late 30's! I had the pleasure of picking the wine for us (Juanita discovered she likes Viogier!). I opened up my palate with a glass of Sauvignon Blanc, but the real star of the evening was the Etim Negre 2007 (Spain). Holy Hannah, what a marvellous wine! A Grenache/Syrah blend, this wine was so beautifully balanced and very round and full in the mouth. Has the unique distinction of being the only higher alcohol wine (14%) I've ever tried without tasting 'hot'. A bit woody, it had notes of blueberry and I think plum. Definately one to put in the wine rack! It was absolutely marvellous with Sardines a la Plancha and Georgian Bay Whitefish with Portabello mushrooms. We luxiouriated over our dinner for 3 hours, catching up on each other's news and talking about everything buy the blue sky. Juanita, you're a great date!

The Sandman is catching up with me, but I do have more to say, so I'll update again after I catch a few Zzzzs. I still have to tell you about the Cambridge 5! Stay tuned..

Hello fello winos! Very, very lovely wine to tell you about, so put your glass down and pick up a pen.

Chimeres 2007 from Chateau Saint-Roch. (The first e in Chimeres has an accent over it, so please if there are any willing francophones out there, let me know how to insert accents over letters as I am clueless.) This winery is in French Catalonia, near the Mediterranian Sea. Let's all hop into our imaginary planes and fly there, direct to the winery where we can enjoy this wine in huge quantities.

It's a mix of Grenache (65%), Syrah (30%) and Carignan--new to me!--(5%). In Barb math terms, Grenache + Syrah + Carignan= pour me another glass.

There's a lovely earthiness to this wine. The fruit is real berry; the true I-picked-it-off-the-bush-at-the-side-of-the-road kind, not the I've-been-genetically-engineered-and-am-now-sitting-at-the-bottom-of-your-yogurt-cup kind. But there's also a toasty nut, deep, lush, foresty, sexy flavour that makes you want to paint yourself blue, put on a sheet and dance around a bonfire.

A note about the tannins: I found them very present but not disagreeable. We barely decanted this wine, so it may benefit from an hour or so of airing out. I could drink this wine without food, but if you were to eat something with it, have something meaty. I was wishing for pate, but it would be just as nice with a piece of steak, or better yet, some of that lovely elk we enjoyed last week. Oh hell yes!!! I am absolutely 100% going to repeat this wine with elk! Genius!

This was one of Karen's picks--well done, my love! I'm happy to report that this is a wine available at the LCBO, so scuttle away, little kittens, and pick up a bottle of this woodsy nectar to enjoy for the weekend.

'Til next time!

B.