Saturday Night – Return of the Birthday

Last Saturday we went out to the 1010 to celebrate Kathy’s 39^th Birthday, this Saturday we stayed home and had a party. Mick and Amy were there and we added Chris and Jan to the evening’s festivities. We each did a course, Mick did the starter, I did the main course and Chris and Jan took care of dessert.

"Some Miss Vickies chips to get the party started"

"Spicy Shrimp with Mint Sauce - Note if this picture looks just like the last time we had Spicy Shrimp that is just an amazing coincidence and has nothing to do with Amy forgetting to take a picture of this evening's Spicy Shirmp... see Amy I got it covered and no one is the wiser :)"

Mick did Spicy Shrimp with Mint dipping sauce and paired this with a 2009 Ferrari Carano Fumé Blanc.

"Silky Smooth Fume"

The nose on the wine was a pleasant mix of vanilla, cut grass, peach and orange. Tasting the wine you’ll notice a softer styled Fumé Blanc with vanilla and peach flavours. The balance on the wine was very nice as it had good balance of acidity and fruit. It paired very nicely with the Spicy Shrimp and helped relieve that spicy burn. Mick and I really like this wine but Kathy wasn’t a big a fan. Kathy enjoys the Mondavi Fumé which tends to be made in a more in your face type of style with big acid and alcohol and expects that from a Fumé. I will agree that the Mondavi Fumé is a better pairing with Spicy Shrimp but it was hard not to love the silky smooth styling of the Ferrari Carano Fumé.


Here is the group rating for the wine – Mick - 89, Mark - 89, Kathy – 84, Amy – 87, Overall – 87.25.

Here is the LCBO information on the wine –

FERRARI-CARANO FUMÉ BLANC 2009


VINTAGES 354993
750 mL bottle
Price: $ 19.95
Wine, White Wine
13.9% Alcohol/Vol.
Sugar Content : D
Made in: California, USA
By: Ferrari Carano Winery
Release Date: Feb 19, 2011

Tasting Note - This pale yellow colored Sauvignon Blanc opens with a mild passion fruit bouquet with a touch of lime. On the palate, this wine is medium bodied and balanced. The flavor profile is a mineral infused mild lime with a touch of green pear. The finish is dry and quite refreshing. This wine would be very good with bacon wrapped scallops. Score - 88. (Ken Hoggins, www.kenswineguide.com, June 11, 2010)

"Pinenutty goodness all ready for cooking"

"The finished product"

For the main course I did Pine nut Salmon with a lemon, butter and basil sauce with a side of mash potatoes with caramelized onions and a side of sugar snap peas. I paired this with a 2007 Kendall Jackson Grand Reserve Chardonnay which we have reviewed before so I declined reviewing it again.


I will say that the KJ was a very good pairing with Salmon.

"A very good Chardonnay"

"A tray of soon to be disappearing cake pops... it's like magic!"

For dessert Chris and Jan brought Cake Pops which are cake batter and cream cheese mixed to together and baked, then an icing or glaze for the outside and on a lollipop stick for easy eating. Kathy and Amy really liked these tasty wonders. Chris and Jan also brought a 2008 Cabernet Franc Ice wine and a 2007 Riesling Ice wine both from Henry of Pelham.

"Stunning Icewines"

I didn’t review either of these wine as I don’t like to review wines that guests bring to dinner (Mick and Amy are the exception as they are also rating the wines). My fear is that if I don’t like a wine, I would feel very bad ripping it in front of my guests. I will say with the two wines Chris and Jan brought I wish I lifted that policy as both were excellent. I’ve had a couple of Cabernet Franc Ice wines in the past and wasn’t a big fan but the 2008 Cabernet Franc Ice wine from Henry of Pelham amazing and went exceptionally well with any of the chocolate based Cake Pops. The Riesling was very good, which isn’t a surprise, as any late harvest or Ice wine Riesling I’ve had from Henry of Pelham has been excellent.


It was a fun evening and I’d like to thank Mick for his course and especially thank Chris and Jan for the dessert and going way overboard with two excellent dessert wines. The only problem I have now is both Birthday nights for Kathy’s 39th were amazing that I’m have no idea how to top this for next year for the big 4-0…

Cheers!

Mark