Saturday Night – We haven’t had that in a while…

This past Saturday it was my turn to host our usual Saturday night dinner and I had a couple of old favourites on tap and a new recipe to try.

 

I had a bottle of 2005 Mondavi Napa Valley Fume Blanc which I wanted to get rid of as Fume Blanc isn’t a wine you usually want to keep around that long.  As soon as I mention this to Mick, he said “Spicy Shrimp it is” as this is our favourite pairing for this wine.  He even volunteered to make the shrimp and marinade as long as I would do the mint sauce. 

I was relieved to see the Fume was still a pale/greenish yellow colour when I poured it out as this meant it was still good; when Fume Blanc has turned, it will go a deep golden/amber yellow.  I won’t be reviewing it here in detail as we have reviewed it before.  I liked the 2005 Fume Blanc as the acidity had softened and it had an easier to drink and rounded mouth-feel to it.  Kathy on the other hand was not impressed as she likes Fume Blanc when it has that razor-sharp-kick-you-in-the-teeth type of acidity.  It was good with the spicy shrimp but I will have to agree with my wife that with the shrimp, a Fume Blanc with more acidity would have been a better pairing.

For the next course I did smoke salmon with bagel crisps, cream cheese, capers, red onion, cucumbers and slice lemon.  I paired this with a 2009 Kendall Jackson Grand Reserve Chardonnay. 

The colour was that typical rich golden yellow you would expect on a California Chardonnay.  The nose on the KJ was a comforting mix of toasted caramel, marshmallow, butterscotch, vanilla and mango.  The caramel aroma carried over to the taste and was the dominate flavour with hints of pineapple and vanilla.  The structure on the wine was lovely and balanced but it was over oaked.  This wine is unapologetically a California Chardonnay with its big nose and taste; if you are looking for subtle go somewhere else.  It was a very good pairing with the salmon.

Here is the group rating for the wine - Mick – 89, Mark - 89, Kathy – 87, Amy – 87, Overall – 88.

Here is the LCBO information on the wine -

KENDALL-JACKSON GRAND RESERVE CHARDONNAY 2009
VINTAGES 59576
750 mL bottle
Price $ 27.95
Made in: California, USA
By: Jackson Wine Estates International
Release Date: Jun 23, 2012
Wine, White Wine
13.5% Alcohol/Vol.
Varietal: Chardonnay
Sugar Content: 5 g/L
Sweetness Descriptor: XD - Extra Dry

Tasting Note -  Readers looking for more caramelized tropical fruit and honeysuckle characteristics as well as more opulence and flesh should check out the 2009 Grand Reserve Chardonnay (a blend of equal parts Santa Barbara and Monterey fruit). This 100% Chardonnay was aged 9 months in primarily French oak, and was put through 100% barrel and malolactic fermentation with lots of lees stirring. Kendall-Jackson's Chardonnay program has always been a reference point for how to get the most out of this grape and this cuvee highlights the buttery melon, tropical fruit and peach-like characteristics of Chardonnay. It also possesses medium to full body, well-integrated wood and a long, heady, rich finish. Score - 91. (Robert Parker Jr., erobertparker.com, Feb. 2011)

For the main course I did Chile-Lime Chicken Kabobs and paired this with a 2004 Comtes d’Isenbourg Pinot Gris (once again another white wine that I kept too long) from Alsace.  This time it came back to bite me as it was past its prime; it was drinkable but it had certainly lost a step or two.  As this wine was past its prime, we decided it wouldn’t be fair to review it.

Here is the link to the recipe - http://allrecipes.com/recipe/chili-lime-chicken-kabobs/detail.aspx?event8=1&prop24=SR_Title&e11=chili-lime&e8=Quick%20Search&event10=1&e7=Recipe%20Hub

The marinade smelled terrific but tasting it, I wasn’t blown away.  I served the kabobs over rice and the flavour of the chili-lime was nice but almost too subtle; I found myself wishing for more sauce/flavour.  Mick said this would be a good ‘thru the week’ recipe but it was missing that certain something to make it a Saturday night feature dish.  I think he hit the nail on the head perfectly with that description.

We finished the night with Ice Cream cake. 

Thanks to Mick for making the spicy shrimp and being the ‘grill master’.  It was a fun night and I enjoyed getting back to a couple of favourite dishes we hadn’t had in a while.

Cheers!

Mark

March Wine Club – Alsace

This past Thursday, Wine Club looked at 3 different wines from the region of Alsace in France.  The last time we looked at Alsace was June 2008 so we were more than due to take another peak at this wonderful wine region.

Here is the LCBO Information on the wines -

TURCKHEIM HENGST GEWURZTRAMINER 2007

VINTAGES 259705
750 mL bottle
Price: $ 24.95
Wine, White Wine
13.5% Alcohol/Vol.
Sugar Content : M
Made in: Alsace, France
By: Ernest Preiss
Release Date: Mar 3, 2012

Tasting Note - Gewurztraminer is grown around the world, but the most famous expressions of this exotically spicy grape are found in Alsace. This example offers a great flourish of peach, pear, citrus, spice, rose-petal and lychee aromas. The palate is moderately sweet and deliciously lives up to the promise of the nose. Very appealing, and simply lovely. (VINTAGES panel, April 2011)

KUEHN FLORIMONT RIESLING 2009

VINTAGES 260257
750 mL bottle
Price: $ 22.95
Wine, White Wine
12.5% Alcohol/Vol.
Sugar Content : MD
Made in: Alsace, France
By: Vins D'Alsace Kuehn S.A.
Release Date: Mar 3, 2012

Tasting Note - Perfumed aromas of exotic spice introduce a persistent off-dry stream of ripe fruit flavour moderated by a wonderful sweet and tang aftertaste. This is medium bodied with a generous mouth feel. Sweet pear, apple and spice mingle with lemony citrus on the palate while the mid-length finish layers on yellow plum and a refreshing dollop of key lime showcasing that magical yin and yang that pairs so well with spicy Asian dishes like pad Thai. Score - 3 1/2 Stars (out of 5). (Vic Harradine, winecurrent.com, June 25, 2011)LCBO Information – Pierre Sparr Pinot Gris Réserve 2005

JOSEPH CATTIN HATSCHBOURG PINOT GRIS 2009

VINTAGES 260240
750 mL bottle
Price: $ 19.95
Wine, White Wine
13.0% Alcohol/Vol.
Sugar Content : M
Made in: Alsace, France
By: Cattin Freres
Release Date: Mar 3, 2012

Tasting Note - Richly textured wine, full of ripe and spicy fruit, the acidity just a hint behind the dried honey and watermelon flavors. It is full-bodied, ripe, packed with intense fruit flavors. A wine for aging over 3-4 years. Score - 93. (Roger Voss, Wine Enthusiast, Dec. 2011)

Pouring out the wines, I was amazed to see the different hues to the wines.  The Pinot Gris and Gewürztraminer were a golden yellow (the Gewürztraminer was slightly darker than the Pinot Gris) in colour whereas the Riesling was more a pale yellow with some greenish tint to it.  The nose on all 3 wines were very different from each other – The Pinot Gris had a moderate nose of rhubarb, pear and nutmeg, the Riesling had a weak nose with aromas of lime, petrol and green apple and the Gewürztraminer had a powerful nose with lovely aromas of roses, lychee and orange zest.  Tasting the wines was fun as they were all very different from each other too.  The Riesling had lively acidity and had a racy green apple flavour to it.  The Pinot Gris had interesting flavours of honey and peach but the acidity wasn’t that high which made the wine seem almost cloying.  The Gewürztraminer had powerful flavours of kiwi and white grapefruit and that usual bitterness in the mid-palate that I have come to expect from Gewürztraminer.

Tracy, a Wine Club member, did Buttered Chicken and served it with fresh sliced baguette.  I really like the Buttered Chicken and asked her for the recipe and she laughed and showed me the President’s Choice jar it came from.  I thought this was cool as that makes it super easy to make… just go buy a jar of it!  The Riesling was the clear winner with the food and it made an amazing pairing.

I loved the Riesling but wasn’t blow away by the other two wine, though the nose on the Gewürztraminer was awesome. 

Next month we’ll be looking at a Cab-blend from Australia and Cabernet Sauvignon from California.

Cheers!

Mark

Saturday Night – Chez Kimmie

Our good friends, Kim and John, hosted a dinner party last Saturday night for Mick, Amy, Kathy and I. I offered to provide the wines for the night and Kim e-mailed me the menu before the dinner so I could figure out the pairings.

Here is the menu :


Baked Crab and Cheese dip with Nachos

Zucchini stuffed with quinoa, cherry tomatoes and garlic

Avocado and cucumber salad with cilantro

Oven roasted Chicken breast with walnuts and quinoa with sides of mash potatoes and baby carrots

Cheesecake

So what wines would you have paired with these dishes?

For the Baked Crab and Cheese dip with Nachos, I went with a 2008 Edgebaston Sauvignon Blanc from South Africa. I like South African Sauvignon Blanc as I find it a nice middle ground between the crisp mineral style of the Loire Valley in France and the lush fruit-forward New Zealand styled ones. It turned out to be a very good pairing. Mick enjoyed the pairing but thought a French Sauvignon Blanc would have been better as its higher acidity would have cut through the richness of the dip better. We have reviewed the Edgebaston before -

http://zippysauce.blogspot.com/2010/05/saturday-night-were-back-part-1.html so I won’t be reviewing it again here.

The second course was the Zucchini stuffed with quinoa, cherry tomatoes and garlic. I went with a 2001 Joseph Phelps ‘Napa Valley’ Merlot as my pairing here as I thought a nice fruit-forward California Merlot would be a good match. This was probably my weakest pairing of the night as age has unfortunately begun to catch up to this wine as the fruit is no longer as dominate as it once. On the upside the wine was still very good and it while it wasn’t a perfect pairing it was still a very good pairing. We have also had this wine before -

http://zippysauce.blogspot.com/2009/06/saturday-night-kim-cooks-up-storm-part_7866.html (strangely enough, it was at Kim and John’s place when we had it before) so we didn’t rate it again.

The third course of the night was the one wine of the night we hadn’t had before so I will review this one. As soon as Kim mentioned Avocado as an ingredient, I started to sweat a bit on this pairing. Mick’s Blackened Scallop recipe that we all love so much uses Avocado as a main ingredient and this is a pairing that Mick and I have struggled to get right. I believe it is the Avocado that throws us the curve ball. As Avocado has a slight sweetness to it, it really messes with a dry wine. So I needed something off dry for my pairing. I remembered that I just picked up a case of Willy Gisselbrecht Gewürztraminer for an upcoming Wine Club and it was made in an off dry style. I decided to roll the dice and go with it as the pairing.

The nose on the wine had the lychee aroma which I was expecting from a Gewürztraminer with some green apple, rose and little vanilla in the background. Tasting the wine before the meal it was a touch syrupy or cloying with mango, lime and honeydew flavours to it. It was interesting mix of flavours that I wasn’t sold on but didn’t mind. With the food however completely different story; it was an amazing pairing. The oiliness and sweetness of the Avocado completely neutralized that cloying element that bothered me earlier and the mango and lime popped out big time as this wine really came to life. Mick mentioned that it may be time to do his Blacked Scallop recipe again and try it with this wine as he liked the pairing as well.


Here is the group rating for the wine -Mick – 88, Mark - 90, Kathy – 90, Amy – 87, Overall – 88.75

Here is the LCBO Information on the wine –

WILLY GISSELBRECHT TRADITION GEWURZTRAMINER 2008


VINTAGES 928390
750 mL bottle
Price: $ 18.95
Wine, White Wine
13.0% Alcohol/Vol.
Sugar Content : MD
Made in: Alsace, France
By: Willy Gisselbrecht & Fils
Release Date: Jul 23, 2011

Tasting Note - Pleasant notes of peach, ginger and lychee greet the nose here. A touch off-dry, well balanced and lovely with citrus, peach and spice tones in the mouth. Ideal for spicy Indian curry dishes featuring chicken or lamb. (VINTAGES panel, Sept. 2010)

The main course of the evening was oven roasted Chicken breast with walnuts and quinoa with sides of mash potatoes and baby carrots. The dish was excellent but by this point I was beginning to fill up. I went with an old favourite as a pairing for this one and had two bottles of 2006 Kendall Jackson Chardonnay on hand. I really like this pairing and wasn’t the only one who did as we had no problem killing both bottles.

Kim had a very tasting Cheesecake on tap for dessert which was amazing but I had to fight a bit to get through it as by this time I was stuffed to the gills. I didn’t bring anything to pair with this course as I figured after five bottles of wine for six people we would have had enough wine for the night.

It was a fun night and words cannot express how truly grateful I am to Kim for all her hard work she put into crafting some truly wonderful dishes. Thanks to Kim and John for hosting the night and hopefully the six of us will get together more often.


Cheers!

Mark

Zippy Sauce is now up to 6 readers!

I noticed that my latest blog entry had a comment on it…

http://zippysauce.blogspot.com/2009/09/saturday-night-down-under-part-2.html

I’ll be honest and thought it was a glitch as I usually don’t get much feedback on the blog but to my surprise it was a honest to goodness user comment –

dotfret said...

I love your honest approach to wine, and the way it complements food. There's a few things I have issues with in your writing - yeh, it's all geographical, and you can't help it.
So - a lot of dishes are better served with cider, especially spicy dishes. This side of the pond, you can serve a Vin d'Alsace as an alternative, but your wallet would heave at the extra expense over there (LOL it's bad enough here).
Concha y Toro are selling good Chilean alternatives to those Alsacienne wines - take a look.
But also look at good cider. Would I lie?

Thank you Internets, that bring my official readership up to 6 now :)

I hadn’t realized that my writing was as geographical as it was. The article that dotfret commented on contains references to both Tim Hortons (Donut/Coffee shop that is a Cdn. staple) and the LCBO (evil Ontario government liquor/wine monopoly), short of ending each sentence with an “Eh?” and making a hockey reference I guess it doesn’t get much more Canadian than that, eh?

We do get Strong Bow cider at the LCBO and I have enjoyed it with a spicy dish or two but just haven’t blogged about it as Zippy Sauce is a Food and Wine blog; I do however 100% agree with you that Cider and spicy food is an excellent pairing.

I did a search on the LCBO and the only Concha y Toro they had as a match is

Concha y Toro Winemaker's Lot No.11 Riesling 2007

Vintages 93922
750 mL bottle
Price: $ 14.95
Wine, White Wine,
14.4% Alcohol/Vol.
Sugar Content : XD
Made in: Chile, Chile
By: Concha Toro S.A.
Release Date: Jul 4, 2009

Tasting Note - An excellent value, this refreshing, single-vineyard Riesling is from Chile's cool Bio Bio Valley. Pretty peach and citrus fruit aromas and flavours are backed by vibrant acidity, making this a delightful wine to sip on the cottage deck all summer long or serve it alongside your catch of the day, pan fried with lemon and herbs. (VINTAGES panel, May 2008)

I will pick up a bottle and give it a try. Thanks for the tip dotfret… I didn’t even know there was such a thing as a Chilean Riesling.

Cheers!

Mark

Saturday Night – Riesling vs. Chardonnay

Mick and Amy were coming by on Saturday for our usual weekly dinner and I decided to try out a couple of new recipes –

Fresh Corn Soup Topped With Roasted Corn Guacamole -
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Fresh-Corn-Soup-Topped-with-Roasted-Corn-Guacamole-352975

And California Chicken Salad –
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/California-Chicken-Salad-352249

"Fresh Corn Soup Topped With Roasted Corn Guacamole"

The downside (or upside depending on your point of view) to new recipes is finding a wine pairing that works with them. I was leaning toward a Merlot with the soup and a Chardonnay with the chicken salad. After doing a few Internet searches, I settled on a Riesling with the soup but stayed with the Chardonnay with the chicken salad. Since I’d never done either recipe before and still was unsure about the pairings I thought it might be fun to try both the Riesling and the Chardonnay with each course.

"Not the greatest example of a Riesling"

For the Chardonnay, I went with an old favourite – a 2005 Kendall Jackson Founder’s Estate Chardonnay. I have covered this wine before a number of times and we all rated it the last time we had it so I won’t go into great detail again -

http://zippysauce.blogspot.com/2009/01/saturday-night-its-chardonnay-time-part.html

"California Chicken Salad"

For the Riesling, I went one that I’d never tried before – a 2005 J.M. Sohler Riesling from Alsace. I’ve had this bottle on the rack for awhile and can’t remember the price off hand. It was purchased at the LCBO, so a did a quick search of their inventory and came across this –

Frey-Sohler Riesling 2007

Vintages 107151
750 mL bottle
Price: $ 16.95
Wine, White Wine,
12.0% Alcohol/Vol.
Sugar Content : XD
Made in: Alsace, France
By: Frey-Sohler
Release Date: Mar 14, 2009

Tasting Note - Classic Riesling aromas, including peach, petrol, honeycomb and citrus. Dry and very fresh, with good replays on the palate. A wonderful palate refresher, or match it to grilled salmon steaks with salsa. (VINTAGES panel, July 2008)

- But I’m not 100% sure if this is the 2005 version of the wine above or not.

"Year after year consistantly good!"

The nose on the Riesling is pretty similar to the description from the LCBO where we found lime, petrol and floral (lilac?) aromas. I liked the nose on this wine, too bad the taste didn’t measure up the same way. Green/under-ripe apple was the main flavour to this wine which really needed more fruit, the acidity on the wine was ‘fuzzy’ and not the crisp, razor sharp acidity that you’d expect in a good Riesling. The wine finished in an awkward way that lingered but not in a nice way.

Here is the group rating for the wine -Mick – 85, Mark - 83, Kathy – 85, Amy – 84, Overall – 84.25.

The wines with the foods –

The KJ Chardonnay with the soup was brutal; reminded me of a toothpaste and orange juice like combo. It was so bad that Kathy was convinced that there was something wrong with the wine/it couldn’t be KJ Chardonnay. The nose and colour of the wine was right so I was sure there was nothing wrong with it and that it was just the pairing that was throwing it for a loop. The Sohler Riesling wasn’t a bad pairing with the soup though it could be tart at times. An off-dry Riesling would have been a better pairing vs. the dry/extra dry that the Sohler was, as the sweetness of the avocado was messing with this wine a bit.

For the main course, the chicken, bacon, pine nut and honey mustard sauce combination was stunning with the KJ Chardonnay. It is actually one of the better wine and food pairings that I’ve had in awhile. Kathy, with the main course, agreed that it was KJ Chardonnay and there was nothing wrong with it. The Riesling with the chicken, etc, was a pretty bad match, not hideous but certainly not anything near good.

Some comments on the two dishes –

The Fresh Corn Soup was excellent; really good flavour from both the soup and the Corn Guacamole. The two issues I had with the soup was 1. There wasn’t a heck of a lot of soup, recipe says 4 to 6 servings and I’d argue that it barely served 4, though the portion sizes on the Corn Guacamole were perfect and 2. It was a fair amount of work to do this recipe, as I have had Corn soup recipes that required half the work and were just as good.

The California Chicken Salad was a nice meal, I wasn’t blown away by it and thought the side corn, tomato, asparagus could have used a nice oil based dressing to perk them up a bit. The honey mustard sauce that was part of the recipe was a bit over the top in flavour and need to be toned down a bit.

In case anyone is wondering why this article is one large one vs. two or three smaller ones like usual, the answer is simple – there was only one wine fully reviewed. I will break up article into as many pieces as there are wines reviewed. The reason I do this is so when you are using the Wine List to find a wine, it will take you straight to the wine article and you don’t have to wad through one or two other reviews before finding the one you want.

Cheers!

Mark

Saturday night – "Stuff your pie-hole" Edition – Part 1

Mick and Amy are back from their vacation and, to my disappointment, they only had two hours of rain during that time, so they’ll probably want to vacation again. During their time away I picked up a 2005 Domaines Schlumberger “Les Princes Abbés” Riesling which had been rated a 90 by the Wine Spectator and was one of their Top 100 wines for 2007. If the name seems familiar it is because I covered the 2003 Domaines Schlumberger “Les Princes Abbés” Pinot Gris last week. I came across the Riesling when I was looking up information on the LCBO’s website on the Pinot Gris.

I really wanted to try the Riesling sooner than later as the LCBO still has good stock on it, but probably won’t in a month or two. I called Mick, explained about the wine and ask him if he could make something to pair with the Riesling. He laughed and said that he was planning on making prosciutto wrapped curried shrimp as the starter as he had a 2007 Mondavi Riesling he wanted to try and he’d happily try the Schlumberger Riesling instead.

"Can you really have too many shrimp?"

When we arrived at Mick and Amy’s, Mick was still busy prepping the shrimp. I wondered why it was taking him so long and then noticed how many he was making; he probably had twice the normal amount that he usually makes. This was cool as I was starving.

As Mick was cooking up the shrimp, I grabbed the Riesling from the fridge and poured everyone a glass.

Mick came back in with a huge plate of grilled shrimp, dished them out and we all sat down to enjoy them and the wine.

"A Top 100 Wine, eh?"

The Domaines Schlumberger Riesling was a pale straw colour with slight greenish tint to it. The first thing my nose noticed about the wine was a distinct smell of petrol. Kathy was getting a faint floral aroma that reminded her of roses. Amy was detecting lychee and Mick was finding a pear/melon aroma. In short, a very interesting array of aromas were to be found in this wine.

Tasting the wine, the first thing I noticed was the dryness of it. I have gotten comfortable with sweet and semi-sweet Riesling so a dry Riesling is a bit of a shock. The wine’s balance was very nice and had a dominate a grapefruit flavor to it. It was very cool and crisp. The acidity reminded me more of a Sauvignon Blanc than a Riesling. It was an OK pairing at first with the shrimp but the sweeter Rieslings we have had before were a better match for this dish.

The Riesling when we first served it was very cold and as it came up in temperate it really opened up and got much better. The wine became softer and rounder and developed a slightly oily texture to it. The nose opened up as well and the fainter aromas were we detecting earlier were much stronger. The pairing with the shrimp got better as well.

It was amazing how much difference the temperature made to the wine. It was like we were tasting two completely different wines.

If you are going to have this wine with food, take it out of the fridge 30 minutes before serving it as it is much better wine at higher temperatures.

Here is the group rating for the wine –Mick – 88, Mark – 89, Kathy – 88, Amy – 85, Overall – 87.5

Amy’s rating was low as she was smoking a huge crack pipe... I mean she didn’t think this wine was as good a pairing as the Mondavi Riesling usually is and she prefers a sweeter Riesling.

Here is the LCBO information on this wine –

Domaines Schlumberger Riesling Les Princes Abbés 2005

Vintages 981662
750 mL bottle
Price: $ 25.95
Wine, White Wine,
13.5% Alcohol/Vol.
Sugar Content : D
Made in: Alsace, France
By: Domaine Schlumberger
Release Date: Aug 16, 2008

Description - This wine ranked at #85 on Wine Spectator's Top 100 Wines of 2007.

Tasting Note - Elegant, dry and light- to medium-bodied, with concentrated peach, citrus and mineral flavors melding together. Stays focused through the lingering finish. Drink now through 2016. Score - 90. (Bruce Sanderson, www.winespectator.com, Oct. 31, 2007).

I picked four bottles of this and now have three left. Even though am looking forward to trying the remaining three in the future, I probably won’t rush out and buy more of it.

Link to Part 2

Wine Club – 11th Meeting

This past Thursday, Wine Club met and we sampled three different wines from Alsace. The three wines on tap were a Pinot Gris, a Riesling and a Gewürztraminer. I had tried the Pinot Gris before –

http://zippysauce.blogspot.com/2008/03/saturday-night-my-turn.html

but the Riesling and the Gewürztraminer were new to me.

"The Alsace Three"

I had a preconceived notion of how I expected to enjoy the wine; Pinot Gris would be the favourite, Riesling second and the Gewürztraminer last. I’m not a fan of Gewürztraminer. I usually find that a Gewürztraminer smells wonderful with big aromas of lychee and floral notes that remind me of an ice-wine. Tasting it is where Gewürztraminer usually breaks down for me, due to the aroma I’m is expecting a sweet wine and instead get a dry wine with a bitter taste on the mid-palate which usually kills the enjoyment for me.

Here is the LCBO information on the wines –

LCBO Information – Willm Riesling Réserve

Stock Number – 11452
Volume - 750mL
Price: $ 16.75 (+ $.20 deposit)
Made in: Alsace, France
Sugar Content : D
By: A. Willm
Release Date: May 10, 2008
Description - This is a classic dry Alsatian Riesling that offers fresh fruit aromas of lime juice with peach and mineral notes. It's medium-bodied with a racy and crisp/fruity palate and a very long finish. It would be an excellent match for grilled tuna steaks, Alsatian onion tart or mild pork sausage.

LCBO Information – Pierre Sparr Gewurztraminer Réserve 2005

Stock Number – 747600
Volume – 750mL
Price: $ 18.75 (+ $.20 deposit)
Made in: Alsace, France
Sugar Content : 2
By: Pierre Sparr Et Ses Fils S.A.
Release Date: Mar 29, 2008

Description - A great intro to Alsatian Gewurz because the classic grapefruit, rose petal and lychee aromas are all present, but in a light, pleasing style. As a result, this is an excellent aperitif wine, or enjoy it with lighter-flavoured seafood dishes.

LCBO Information – Pierre Sparr Pinot Gris Réserve 2005

Stock Number – 983395
Volume - 750mL
Price: $ 18.65 (+ $.20 deposit)
Made in: Alsace, France
Sugar Content : MD
By: Pierre Sparr Et Ses Fils S.A.
Release Date: Feb 16, 2008

Description - This Pinot Gris delivers layers of peach, melon and nut aromas that replay beautifully on the palate. This full-bodied wine shows good intensity and balance and will make a delicious match for pan-seared scallops in garlic and butter.

Harold, one the Wine club members brought in a selection of cheese from a specialty cheese shop in Dundas. So not only did we have new wines to try but new cheeses to try as well.

Pouring out the three wines the first noticeable difference between them was the colour, the Pinot Gris and the Gewürztraminer were a light gold-amber colour whereas the Riesling was a pale straw colour.

Nosing the wine, the Gewürztraminer was what I expected with huge lychee and a floral bouquet, the Pinot Gris had a good aroma of peach and a slight nuttiness to it and Riesling was more subdued with a citrus hint to it.

I tried the Riesling first and was shocked at how sharp it was and then I realized it was a dry Riesling. I have been drinking more sweet and semi-sweet Riesling recently so I wasn’t expecting the dryness. I took another sip and this time it was better, good acidity and subtle fruit.

The next candidate was the Pinot Gris, and I was a bit disappointed with it. I was remembering that I really enjoyed this wine the last time I had it and was expecting more from it. It wasn’t bad but after the precision of the Riesling this wine felt a little sloppy on the mouth-feel.

Lastly, was the Gewürztraminer. I took a sip expecting the worst and was very pleasantly surprised, nice fruit, a bit of spiciness to it and no bitter taste to be found. ‘Wow, this is pretty good’ I thought to myself as I reached for another sip. A very nice wine.

The first cheese I tried was a goat cheese with cracked peppercorns. The Gewürztraminer came shining through with this cheese and was an amazing pairing. The Pinot Gris not so much and the Riesling was ok. The Pinot Gris was nice with a soft mild cheese from Quebec and the Riesling was a great pairing with a couple of the hard cheeses. The Gewürztraminer was probably the wine that worked with the most amount of cheeses.

I asked people which of the wines they preferred and it results were a real mixed bag with no clear winner. The only thing everyone had in common was they all enjoyed the wines.

So in the end, the Gewürztraminer was my favorite, the Riesling was second and the Pinot Gris was last. So much for my expectations! The nice thing was all of the wines were good, so even the Pinot Gris in last place would be a recommended buy for me.

Cheers!

Mark.

Baron De Hoen Pinot Gris Sonnenglanz

This past Friday was unbelievably hot and with my kitchen out partially out of order due to the renovations going on, my wife, Kathy suggested that we get in some Chinese take-out for dinner. This sounded great as I really didn’t want to BBQ in the heat. Upon bringing the food home, it was decided that we’d have a bottle of wine to go with it.

Chinese food is a pain in the ass to pair as it has such a wide range of flavours – sweet, spicy, sour, salty. Trying to find a wine that can handle it is always interesting. The best match I have found so far is a semi-sweet Riesling.

I remembered that I had a bottle of Pinot Gris in the small fridge in the basement and decided to give it a shot. The Pinot Gris was a 2004 Baron de Hoen “Sonnenglanz” Pinot Gris from Alsace. I bought this at the LCBO some time ago for around $27. The LCBO no longer has stock or even lists this wine on their website. The Wine Spectator hasn’t reviewed it ether.

I gave the wine a quick nose and was getting floral and fruit notes off of it but found I couldn’t be more precise than that. Trying a sip of the wine I found it had nice fruit on the tongue, good acidity and a mild bitter taste on the finish. The bitterness reminded me of Gewürztraminer as it usually has that bitter finish to it. It wasn’t as bitter as a Gewürztraminer and got me thinking this wine could almost be described as “Gewürztraminer light”.

With the food it wasn’t a bad match but occasionally I got a touch of sharpness with it. The semi-sweet Riesling is still a better match for Chinese cuisine.

To conclude, not a bad wine but even if the LCBO did have stock, I wouldn’t be rushing out to get another bottle of it.

Cheers!

Mark

Saturday Night – My turn

Mick has been knocking Saturday night dinners out of the park over the past few months. He has been cooking items to perfection, trying new recipes and new wines. So I decided it was time to step up to the plate and swing for the fences.

"Spicy, but good!"

I wanted to try a new wine – a 2005 Pierre Sparr Pinot Gris and wanted to do a new dish to go with it. I’m looking at doing a Wine Club meeting on the wines of Alsace and focus on Riesling, Gewürztraminer, and Pinot Gris from that region. I did a web search on wine pairing for Pinot Gris and came across a recipe for Honey Ginger Shrimp.

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Honey-Ginger-Shrimp/Detail.aspx

The one thing that caught my eye on the recipe was the amount or lack of some of the ingredients . The recipe called for a tablespoon of crush red peppers and teaspoon of honey. I thought this was bizarre as I have never seen a recipe ever call for more than half a teaspoon of crush red peppers. In the end, I went with a teaspoon of crushed red peppers and a tablespoon of honey. Someone had posted on website comments that orange juice made a nice edition, so that went in too. I made two batches of the sauce, the first was used to marinade the shrimp. I want to do more than shrimp and thought a Asian Vegetable medley would be fun, so for that I used the second batch of sauce.

"Hello Wine Club!"

I had Mick grill up the shrimp while I cooked the veggies on the stovetop. The final product looked and smelled great.

The first thing everyone noticed was how spicy it was; I can’t tell you how grateful I am that I didn’t use a tablespoon of crushed red peppers - the dish would have been uneatable. The dish did have a really nice flavour. Mick suggested that this would be good as a pasta dish. One of the comments on the website suggested coconut milk; if I did the vegetables in the coconut milk it would make a good base for a pasta and would also tone down the burn as well.

The Pinot Gris was good with the food; nice fruit on the tongue, light oily mid-palate and a reasonably clean finish. I think this will be a good candidate for Wine Club.

LCBO Information –

Pierre Sparr Pinot Gris Reserve 2005
Vintages 983395
750 mL bottle
Price: $ 18.85
12.7% Alcohol/Vol.
Sugar Content : MD
Made in: Alsace, France
By: Pierre Sparr
Release Date: Feb 16, 2008

Description - This Pinot Gris delivers layers of peach, melon and nut aromas that replay beautifully on the palate. This full-bodied wine shows good intensity and balance and will make a delicious match for pan-seared scallops in garlic and butter.

Tasting Note - An excellent example of the medium dry style of Pinot Gris that Alsace does so well. Try this rich and ripe pear/peach-centric example with grilled salmon, tuna or pork roast.

"Homerun, baby!"

For the main course I did the Pine-nut Salmon recipe I did for my In-laws last Saturday.

http://zippysauce.blogspot.com/2008/03/saturday-night-with-my-in-laws.html

For sides, I went with a mixed sweet green salad with baby tomatoes and red onion.

"A year younger, but still a very good wine!"

Last week, the Kendall Jackson was good with the salmon but I thought a white Burgundy would be better. I used up my last bottle of 2005 Louis Jadot “Bourgogne” last week and bought more this week, but it was 2006 and not the 2005 we’ve been drinking. 2005 was an exceptional year for white Burgundy and I was worried that I wouldn’t like 2006 as much.

The Louis Jadot had a much bigger nose to it than the Kendall Jackson which surprise me as usually the Kendall Jackson is very fragrant. The wines with the Salmon were completely different from each other. The Louis Jadot was very easy to drink with the Salmon; so smooth that it almost disappeared. The Kendall Jackson on the other hand, exploded in your mouth with heaps of fruit and oak. Mick and I both liked the Louis Jadot with the salmon, Amy like the KJ and Kathy liked both equally but if pressed gave a slight edge to the KJ.

LCBO Information –

Kendall Jackson Vintner’s Reserve Chardonnay 2005
Vintages 369686
750 mL bottle
Price: $ 19.95
Wine, Still Table Wine, White Still Table Wine
13.0% Alcohol/Vol.
Sugar Content : D
Made in: California, United States
By: Kendall-Jackson
Release Date: Nov 24, 2007

Tasting Note - ... 2005 continues their streak of top-notch wines. Loads of tropical fruit, surprisingly deep texture, medium body, and wonderful purity results in a crisp, elegant, dry Chardonnay. It is ideal for drinking over the next 1-2 years.

Serving Suggestion - pasta in a cream sauce.

Loius Jadot Bourgogne Chardonnay
Vintages 933077
750 mL bottle
Price: $ 18.80
Wine, Still Table Wine, White Still Table Wine
13.0% Alcohol/Vol.
Sugar Content : D
Made in: Burgundy, France
By: Domaine Louis Jadot
Release Date: Mar 1, 2008

Description - A wonderfully versatile wine, this Chardonnay offers aromas of baked apple, citrus, cinnamon and a hint of vanilla. It's creamy, ripe and balanced. Medium-bodied with a lingering finish. Tantalizing with freshwater fish or a vegetable stir-fry.

Tasting Note - From the geographical headquarters of the Chardonnay grape comes this wonderfully versatile wine. Expect aromas of baked apple, citrus, cinnamon and a hint of vanilla. It's creamy, ripe and balanced. Medium-bodied with a lingering finish. Tantalizing with freshwater fish or vegetable stir-fry.

Serving Suggestion - pork chops with apple sauce.

For dessert we had a white chocolate cake with a Henry of Pelham Botrytis Affected Riesling. I really liked this wine the first time I tried it. But this time it was OK; the white chocolate cake was much sweeter than I’d expected and the Botrytis Affected Riesling wasn’t sweet enough to stand up to it.

LCBO information –

Henry of Pelham Botrytis Affected Riesling 2005
Vintages 534628
375 mL bottle
Price: $ 27.90
Wine, Still Table Wine, White Still Table Wine
10.0% Alcohol/Vol.
Sugar Content : MS
Made in: Ontario, Canada
By: Henry of Pelham
Release Date: Sep 29, 2007

Description - Botrytis cinera is a fungus that is responsible for many of the world's great dessert wines including Sauternes and Hungarian Tokaji. It shrivels the grapes which concentrates the sugars and acids, as well as adding a distinctly 'wild' quality to the wines. Henry of Pelham reserves a small, low-lying block of Riesling in hopes that once every five years they get the warm days, cool nights and foggy mornings needed to create these unique wines. Enjoy this rich, complex wine with a selection of fine artisan cheeses.

Cheers!

Mark