Saturday Night – Guess who’s coming to dinner? Part 3

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The main course was pine-nut Salmon with mashed potatoes and caramelized onions and sugar snap peas. I haven’t done this recipe in a long time and had been drooling over the thought of it all week long.

"My signature dish"

As a pairing to the Salmon, I picked a bottle of 2006 Jocelyn Lonen Carneros Chardonnay. I picked this up recently and was interested in trying soon than later so it worked out well.

"Worth $35 a bottle?"

Pouring it out you first notice that dark yellow colour that is typical for Chardonnay. The nose was a mix of vanilla, lemon and apple juice. The wine had more oak then I wanted but thankfully had a good strong lemon flavour to it that help balance it out more. Mick, Kathy and Amy, did not like this wine on its own, so much so that they made me open a bottle of Bouchard Pere & Fils Petit Chablis as they had no faith that this would be good with the food. I’m happy to report that the Jocelyn Lonen paired nicely with the food.

Here is the group rating for the wine – Mick - 86, Mark - 86, Kathy – 84, Amy - 85, Overall – 85.25

Here is the LCBO information for this wine -

JOCELYN LONEN CHARDONNAY 2006

VINTAGES 90076

750 mL bottle

Price: $ 34.95

Wine, White Wine,

14.4% Alcohol/Vol.

Sugar Content : D

Made in: California/Californie, United States

By: Jocelyn Wines

Release Date: Apr 11, 2009

Description - 'It may be blasphemy, but when wine tastes fantastic even in a plastic glass ... that, my friends, is my true test of a great wine.' (www.yelp.com, Aug. 14, 2007). Even the bloggers are singing the praises of this tiny, wonderful little winery in Carneros. The 2006 Chardonnay (they made about 1000 cases) was not yet reviewed, but you can expect a rich, minerally, pure-styled Chardonnay that delights right from the get-go with its scents of pear, brioche and citrus. Designed to be enjoyed within the first six years of its life, this Chard is now hitting its prime. Match it to lobster or king crab legs.

"Sheian's Cheesecake"

I will say I was disappointed with this wine as it was a $35 bottle so I was looking for a little more from it. It did pair well with the salmon but on its own the oak stuck out too much for my liking. I would recommend looking else where if you have $35 to spend on a Chardonnay.

"By the slice"

Sheian did a homemade Cheesecake and bought couple bottles of Strewn 2 Vines Cab/Merlot blend. We didn’t review this wine as by the time we got to it, we were all pretty much toast. Amy, who was nice enough to keep notes for the evening, under the section for the 2 Vines she just wrote “drunk” and I think there was drool on the page after that.

"Lighter than you'd expect!"

The Cheesecake was really yummy and the wine from what I can recall wasn’t a bad pairing as it was fairly light and fruitier than I would have expected from a Cab/Merlot blend.

It was a fun night and we all enjoyed getting caught up on what Sheian had been up to since we last saw her and hope to do this again soon.

Cheers!

Mark

Saturday Night – Guess who’s coming to dinner? Part 2

For the second course, Kathy wanted Carrot Soup with Fire Roasted Chilies. I made this soup back in October 2009 and was disappointed as the carrots I used must have been past their prime as the soup had a stupid strong carrot flavour to it. This time I made sure to find some really fresh carrots for the soup.

" Tastes as good as it looks"

This soup loves red Zinfandel so I picked a bottle of 2006 LeBaron Ranch Zinfandel to accompany the soup.

"Smells like Cab, tastes like Zin!"

I love the nose on Zinfandel in general as they are usually big and easy to find and this one was no exception to the rule; Cigar box, cedar, leather, cassis and almond were noticeable and a bit surprise as this was a wine that by nose you might think was a Cabernet Sauvignon rather than a Zin. The wine had a huge sour cherry flavour running throughout and a bit of pepper mixed in as well. I was drier tasting to than I would have expected from a Zinfandel. It was however a good pairing with the soup.

Here is the group rating for the wine – Mick - 86, Mark - 88, Kathy – 86, Amy - 85, Overall – 86.25

Here is the LCBO information on the wine -

LE BARON RANCH THREE SISTERS ZINFANDEL 2006
VINTAGES 119966
750 mL bottle
Price: $ 22.95
Wine, Red Wine,
14.3% Alcohol/Vol.
Sugar Content : D
Made in: California/Californie, United States
By: Le Baron Ranch Winery
Release Date: Jul 4, 2009

Tasting Note - Deep ruby with purple highlights, this Zin bursts out of the glass with exuberant aromas of raspberry jam, ripe black plum, blueberry, smoke and vanilla. It's dry, with a medium full-body, ripe tannins and just enough acidity to balance the voluptuous black fruit flavours. Warm, soft and creamy with a touch of smoke on the very long finish. It's sure to please with barbecued back ribs smothered in sauce. (VINTAGES panel, May 2009)

The carrot soup was thankfully back to its usual quality this time and no one was disappointed in the flavour.

Click here for Part 3

Saturday Night – Guess who’s coming to dinner? Part 1

Sheian was home from University, so along with Mick and Amy, we had her over for dinner. Kathy picked out the menu for the evening which caused me to put my New Year’s resolution of trying a new recipe each Saturday on hold. On the upside, I did have three new wines to try this evening.

"The savages got to this before it could be photographed!"

The first course was straight forward and simple; Gorgonzola dip and crackers paired with a 2008 Momo Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand. The dip was a nice way to sit around and get caught up on what Sheian had been up to since we last saw her in August.

"Odd name, good wine"

Pouring out the Momo, I was surprised at the nose, aromas of peach, pear and floral notes weren’t what I was expecting. The nose caught Mick by surprise who commented that if he had seen the bottle, would have thought this was a Riesling. Tasting the wine you were rewarded by very crisp and refreshing acidity and a lime/citrus flavour running throughout. The finish lingered nicely and just made you want to come back for more.

The Momo with the dip was great as the acidity and lime cut through the heavy Gorgonzola flavour of the dip.

Here is the group rating for the wine – Mick - 88, Mark - 90, Kathy – 87, Amy - 89, Overall – 88.5

Here is the LCBO information on the wine –

MOMO SAUVIGNON BLANC 2008

VINTAGES 9167
750 mL bottle
Price: $ 18.95
Wine, White Wine,
13.5% Alcohol/Vol.
Sugar Content : XD
Made in: New Zealand, New Zealand
By: Seresin Estates Ltd
Release Date: Jul 18, 2009

Tasting Note - Light and citrusy, with grapefruit, tangerine and green melon flavors that linger on the bright, juicy finish. Drink now. Score - 90. (Harvey Steiman, www.winespectator.com, April 30, 2009)

The LCBO is listing no bottles left in inventory, which is a shame as I would have liked a couple more of these for the rack. I will have to keep an eye out in July of this year when the 2009 version comes out and pick up a bottle or two.

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Wine Club – Riesling

We kicked off the new session of Wine Club yesterday by taking a look a couple of Rieslings. We look at Riesling awhile back but not on its own but during a tribute to Alsace where it was one of three grapes we looked at.

As I enjoyed the Lingenfelder Kabinett Riesling and some stock was still available, I picked it as one of the two Rieslings we’d be trying.

Review of it is below -

http://zippysauce.blogspot.com/2009/11/com-b-q-part-1.html

For the second Riesling I wanted something from somewhere other than Germany, Alsace and Canada, maybe a region that wasn’t well known for Riesling to show the diversity of this wonderful grape. My LCBO contact recommended a bottle of 2008 Petaluma Hanlin Hill Riesling from Australia. Australia wasn’t an area that jumps out at me for Riesling so I thought ‘why not’.

Note - I’m just going to focus on the Petaluma as the Lingenfelder has already been review here before.

Here is the LCBO Information on the wine -

PETALUMA HANLIN HILL RIESLING 2008

VINTAGES 138537
750 mL bottle
Price: $ 21.95
Wine, White Wine,
12.5% Alcohol/Vol.
Sugar Content : D
Made in: South Australia, Australia
By: Lion Nathan Wine Group
Release Date: Dec 5, 2009

Tasting Note ... A fragrant Clare Valley Riesling that evokes the scent of lemon barley, a squeeze of sweet lime, pear juice, bath salts and spice. In the mouth it's fine and slatey, crisp but not unapproachable as a young wine, combining delicacy with abundant flavour ... and the acidity, I think, feels entirely natural and very fine. I think it's an each way bet, now or later. A big thumbs up from me (as they say) and I think it will play in Peoria too. Drink 2008-2020+. Score - 95. (Gary Walsh, www.winefront.com.au, Aug. 2008)

The nose on the Petaluma was a pleasing combination of lemon and spice. Tasting it you certainly noticed that it was done in a much drier style than the Kabinett one. Lime was the dominate flavour to this wine. The structure on the Petaluma was good with nice balanced acidity. The biggest issue I had with the Petaluma was the lack of ‘wow’ factor as there was nothing that really jumped out and impressed me with this wine.

We got in some Chinese food that leaned towards the spicier side in the dish selection. Both wines were good with the food but the Lingenfelder was the crowd favourite.

The food and the wines were a nice way to launch this new session of Wine Club and next month we’ll be taking a look at two Douro wines from Portugal.

Cheers!

Mark

Saturday Night – Everybody was Kung Fu Drinking – Part 3

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For the main course Mick did up Lobster Quesadillas and pair it with a 2007 Toasted Head Russian River Valley Chardonnay.

"Mick - King of the Quesadillas... All hail Mick!"

The nose the Chardonnay was a combination of vanilla and butter on the nose with no noticeable fruit to be found. After trying my first sip of the wine, I picked up the bottle in amazement as I was astounded that I something with this much oak in it could still be a liquid form and not be a solid. After looking at the bottle carefully, I couldn’t see an oak branch in it so I put the bottle down. The main flavour on the wine was burnt vanilla. The Lobster Quesadillas helped neutralize some of oak, enough to make it an OK pairing at least.

"Watch out for that tree..."

Here is the group rating for the wine – Mick - 82, Mark - 80, Kathy – 78, Amy - 80, Overall – 80

TOASTED HEAD CHARDONNAY 2007

VINTAGES 686840
750 mL bottle

Price: $ 22.95

Wine, White Wine,

14.5% Alcohol/Vol.

Sugar Content : D

Made in: California/Californie, United States

By: Constellation Wines U S

Release Date: Nov 21, 2009

Description - This Chardonnay from the Russian River Valley achieves an impressive balance of refreshing liveliness and depth. Look for aromas of apple, citrus blossom, cinnamon and clove spice. It has a rich mouthfeel with good aroma replays. The oak is gently handled, adding a layer of complexity. Enjoy with herb-roasted chicken.

“the oak is gently handled”, bawhahahahahahahaha! I would have laughed more at this line but the oak splinters in my mouth made it too painful continue laughing.

The main course was a bit of disappointment as Mick makes the greatest Chicken Quesadillas ever, I was pretty stoked about trying the Lobster ones. The Lobster ones were good but not as good as his Chicken Quesadillas. I also think Mick set the bar too high with the first two courses which were stunning.

Thanks to Mick for all his hard work in prepping and making dinner.

Cheers!

Mark

Saturday Night – Everybody was Kung Fu Drinking – Part 2

For the second course, Mick did Curried Mussel Bowls and paired it with an 2007 Eroica Riesling also from Washington State.

"Hopefully making a monthly appearance at a dinner near you"

The nose on the Eroica was much easier to find than the one on the Kung Fu Girl, and had lime and kiwi as its two main aromas. Tasting this wine on its own, it was done in a drier style than the previous Riesling. The acidity on this wine seemed much more blunt and rounded compared to the Kung Fu girl. The flavours on the wine were a nice combination of orange and lime. The dry finish lingered around for quite awhile after you had a mouthful. The Kung Fu Girl reminded me of a Kabinett style Riesling from Germany whereas this one reminded me more a Riesling from Alsace. It was good with the Mussels but I had a little Kung Fu Girl left and liked it better with the Mussels.

"Not bad, but is it worth the price?"

Here is the group rating for the wine – Mick - 86, Mark - 85, Kathy – 85, Amy - 86, Overall – 85.5

The Eroica also must have been a US purchase as there was no listings for it at the LCBO. Another quick web search came back with a $20 US price point ($33 or so CDN, after duty, exchange and taxes). I thought the Eroica wasn’t bad but figured it was around $20 CDN a bottle, at $33+ CDN a bottle, I would recommend looking at something else.

The Curried Mussels were amazing and I’m hoping this makes regular appearances on the Mick Menu of Excellence.

Click here for Part 3

Saturday Night – Everybody was Kung Fu Drinking – Part 1

Mick and Amy were hosting this Saturday night’s dinner. When I arrived I noticed Mick had the first course’s wine out on the counter – 2007 Kung Fu Girl Riesling from Washington State.

The first thought I had upon seeing the name on the very loud styled label was ‘Shit buddy, we’re your friends, not your freaking relatives, so break out the good stuff!’

"Ignore the label and just try it..."

Thankfully I have mellowed as I gotten older and rather than blurting out that thought, ‘Remember Bear in a Boat Pinot?’ popped into my head followed by ‘you can’t always judge a book by its cover’. My next thought was ‘wow, Amy’s butt looks great in those jeans!’ but that is another story, though Amy does say I don’t give her enough credit for her photos or mention her enough on the blog… happy now Amy?

Getting back on topic, Bear in a Boat Pinot Noir was a wine I picked up because the label made me laugh. When I got around to trying the wine, I really liked it and since then tend to not take bottle, label or packaging as much into my preconceptions in judging a wine.

The starter was an old favourite which we hadn’t had in awhile – prosciutto-wrapped curried shrimp and we sat down to enjoy them with some Kung Fu Girl Riesling.

The nose on the wine was stupid mild to almost nonexistent, there was a bit or tropical fruit happening on the nose, well there was if you were a Bloodhound in another life and some of that super sensitive nose carried over. OK, so loud label, no nose, good start so far. Tasting the wine I was much happier; huge nectarine and pineapple flavour right off the start with fresh acidity slicing through the sweetness like a Samurai sword through butter. The initial favour and taste on the wine was big, but then it quickly fades away. I found myself enjoying this wine and it was excellent with the shrimp.

Here is the group rating for the wine – Mick - 87, Mark - 88, Kathy – 86, Amy - 88, Overall – 87.25

The wine was picked up by Amy in the US and after a quick web search looks like it sells for about $13 US a bottle ($20 CDN after taxes, duty and exchange). Not a bad wine for the price point.

Click here for Part 2

Saturday Night - Going a little coco-NUTTY

This Saturday it was my turn to cook again and sticking to my New Year’s resolution to keep trying new dishes, I went with coconut shrimp with a spiced honey dip as the starter.

"Turned out OK for a first attempt"

As the dish had both coconut and honey, this was something that wouldn’t be at all happy with a dry wine. Looking for a wine that was off-dry or sweet, I picked a Markus Molitor Kabinett Riesling as my pairing.

"Just can't get enough of Rieslings these days!"

The shrimp were quite a bit of work to prep as they had to be hand dipped in a beer batter and then shaved coconut and then refrigerating for at least 30 minutes before frying. I have not done a lot of deep frying on the stove before so this was something new to me as well. I got the oil nice and hot and working in small batches cooked up the shrimp. I didn’t want to over cook the shrimp so each batch got two minutes in the oil before I pulled them out.

The shrimp coating was a nice light golden brown but will make the oil hotter next time so the batter is more crispy.

The Riesling had a nice nose of lime, peach, pear and lychee that you didn’t have to work to hard to find. Tasting the wine on its own it seemed very sweet. The wine was also paler in colour then I’d expect for a Riesling. With the food the wine became less sweet and the citrus and nectarine flavours came more to the forefront. It was light with good acidity and a lingering finish. It was a very drinkable wine that all of us were disappointed to see the bottle finished and empty.

Here is the group rating for the wine – Mick - 86, Mark - 88, Kathy – 88, Amy - 88, Overall – 87.5

"This was so good with the wine!"

Here are the LCBO details for the wine -

MARKUS MOLITOR RIESLING KABINETT 2007
VINTAGES 115634
750 mL bottle
Price: $ 20.65
Wine, White Wine,
11.0% Alcohol/Vol.
Sugar Content : M
Made in: Moselle/Saar/Ruwer, Germany
By: Markus Molitor Vineyards
Release Date: Jul 18, 2009

Description - A true visionary, Markus Molitor is driven by an uncompromising devotion to quality at all stages of the winemaking process and believes that each vineyard and vintage should express itself through his wines. In the Wehlener Sonnenuhr vineyard, only organic materials are used, yields are kept low, and grapes are hand-picked. Keeping with his philosophy of authenticity, Molitor ferments his wines using only wild ambient yeasts. This world-famous vineyard site is known for producing wines that are impressive for their juicy fruit, unique balance, nuance interplay and piquant acidity.

"You will want this on your wine rack"

For the main course I did a veal scaloppini with a side of fettuccine alfredo. This was paired with a Louis Jadot Chardonnay. I won’t be reviewing it again as we have had this wine a number of times. I add that this wine is staple on my wine rack. It is solid good value Chardonnay that you can never have too much of. The wine was a very good pairing for this dish.

"St. Agur and St. Paulines"

For dessert we had a cheese tray which was a nice change from a sweet dessert.

It was a fun evening and a nice mix of new wine and food and some old favourites as well. I’m already looking forward to next Saturday to see what yummy dishes Mick will be making.

Cheers!

Mark

Saturday Night - Return of the Sauce – Part 2

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For the main course Mick did up a risotto in fish stock and then added the garlic sauce from New Year’s Eve in just at the end of cooking it. He served the risotto topped with grilled shrimp.

"Better as a risotto!"

His pairing for this meal was a Simonnet-Febvre Premier Cru Chablis.

The nose on the Chablis was an odd mixture of lime, mushroom and lilac. Tasting the wine it was slightly tart and acidic with lime as the main flavour running throughout but there was a bit of a soapy taste in the background as well. Mick’s comment on the wine was “Disappointing, would not buy again.” and that pretty much sums it up. It was nice with the risotto but really lost something when consumed on its own.

"Move along, nothing to see here!"

Here is the group rating for the wine – Mick - 86, Mark - 86, Kathy – 84, Amy - 85, Overall – 85.25

I couldn’t find a listing for a 2005 on the LCBO’s website. Judging by the price points of the 2006 Simonnet-Febvre Chablis listed I would guess this was a $30-35 price point. At that price point I’d advise the following – “Move along, nothing to see here.”

The garlic risotto was very good and probably the highlight of the night. I think the ladies actually enjoyed it more this way then when it was used as a sauce for shrimp and scallops for New Year’s Eve.

Thanks for Mick and Amy for hosting this one and to Mick for all his hard work in getting the food ready.

Cheers!

Mark

Saturday Night - Return of the Sauce – Part 1

As I wrote in my New Year’s Blog, we would be at Mick and Amy’s for dinner this Saturday. Mick was going to use up the garlic cream sauce I made New Year’s Eve in a risotto. The risotto ended up being the main dish of the evening as we started with King crab legs.

"Meaty and perfect with just a touch of lemon!"

Mick pick a 2008 Chateau de Valmer Vouvray to pair with the steamed crab legs which were served with butter or lemon depending on preference.

Rant time – I get somewhat annoyed when people have hot liquid butter with Crab or Lobster. I mean if you are going to drown it in butter, why the hell are you getting Lobster or Crab in the first place. If you are going to use butter with either of those items, go buy a bag of freaking popcorn as you won’t be able to tell the difference anyways and save yourself $20 you would have wasted on good seafood! Rant over and now back to our regularly scheduled programming.

"Vouvray = Chenin Blanc = What the hell is that?"

Vouvray is a region in the Loire Valley in France and it means the wine is Chenin Blanc. If you next question is what is Chenin Blanc, here is the answer - Chenin Blanc is a grape that was popular before Chardonnay became king of the whites. Most Chenin Blanc I’ve tried tends to be highly acidic and somewhat bland.

The 2008 Chateau de Valmer Vouvray caught me a bit off guard as it was anything but acidic or bland. The nose was very mild but you got an interesting combination of pineapple, peach and eucalyptus as the main aromas. The wine was done in a sweeter style that at time I found almost cloying at times. You got a big mango flavour off of the wine and a finish that quickly disappeared. On the upside it was a very easy drinking wine that made an interesting pairing with the crab legs.

Here is the group rating for the wine – Mick - 87, Mark - 85, Kathy – 90, Amy - 88, Overall – 87.5

Here is the LCBO information on the wine -

Chateau de Valmer Vouvray 2008

Vintages 140624
750 mL bottle

Price: $ 16.95

Wine, White Wine,

12.0% Alcohol/Vol.

Sugar Content : MD

Made in: Loire, France

By: Jean Battelier

Release Date: Oct 10, 2009

Tasting Note - A very true-to-type Chenin Blanc with plenty of fruit balanced by zippy acidity. Pear, orange rind, table grapes and McIntosh apple fill the nose and palate. This is one off-dry Chenin that will reward 3-6+ years in a cellar. If you are anxious to try it tonight, match it to spicy dishes, such as vindaloo chicken or green curry shrimp. Or give it a go with soft cheeses, such as brie and Camembert. (VINTAGES panel, May 2009).

Click here for Part 2

Happy *sniffle* New Year! Part 3

Click here for Part 1

The Beef Tenderloin was finally ready to go so I plated it and served it up.

"Two years = Too long!"

I’m glad we didn’t kill the Mondavi before dinner as it was a great pairing with the food. The nose wasn’t hard to find with eucalyptus, clove, cedar, green pepper, chocolate and cassis all mixed in there. The balance on this wine was perfect; fine silky tannins with nice acidity and a solid blueberry and chocolate flavour to wrap it all up. The one thing that really stood out was its magnificently smooth lingering finish. The only flaw we found is without the food it was really dry tasting on its own but how good it was with the food more than overcame that deficiency.

"Still great!"

Here is the group rating for the wine – Mick - 90, Mark - 91, Kathy – 91, Amy - 90, Overall – 90.5

The 90.5 rating means I will start the year off by updating the Top Ten red list and I feel it is well deserved to be in that select class of wines.

The beef tenderloin was stellar, and Amy gave it her highest compliment again – “It’s like chocolate in meat form!” Two years between having this dish is too long. We finished the evening off with some more truffles and cheese tray.

Happy New Year’s to everyone and may your 2010 be filled with amazing wines and food!

Cheers!

Mark

Happy *sniffle* New Year! Part 2

The main course was a New Year’s favourite – Beef Tenderloin in a port and shallot sauce with mashed potatoes and caramelize onions. I also usually do up some green beans to go with this dish but this year they looked like shit at the store so I went with sugar snap peas instead. I know early I said I wanted to do more new recipes but this is so good its not funny and mixing one old dish and one new isn’t the worst thing I could do. Besides that, I hadn’t done this since New Year’s of 2008 so it had been awhile!

"Amy's favourite picture of the night for some unknown reason"

I downgraded my original wine choice to another old favourite – a 1999 Robert Mondavi Napa Valley Private Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon (not exactly slumming at around $130 CDN a bottle though, just because I wasn’t a 100% didn’t mean I didn’t want everyone else to suffer!). The amusing thing is this is exactly the same pairing I did two years ago for New Years but that was also before we did ratings and I thought this one deserved to be rated.

"Unexpectedly Good!"

I poured out the wine very early in everyone’s glass to let it breathe a bit before we had it with dinner. Mick nosed the wine and smiles and said, “Buddy, if you think this glass it going to make it to dinner you are crazy!” We talked about this and while it would be good on its own, I knew it would really shine with dinner so we both thought a ‘between courses’ wine would be good and wandered down to the basement to take a look at what was kicking around on the rack. Mick said he was in the mood for a Shiraz. After some searching I found a bottle of Graham Beck 2002 Shiraz on the rack from South Africa that I’d forgotten I’d had and we headed back upstairs.

As soon as I opened this bottle as I was like ‘Wow’ as the nose on it was huge, even with a cold and it still being in the bottle I was picking up a big cocoa/truffle aroma. I poured it out for everyone and bought my glass into the kitchen to ‘keep me company’ as I made the main course.

Besides the cocoa/truffle aromas there was also peat, pepper and a hint of coffee on the nose. Tasting the wine, I really like what I found, smooth and well structured with a mix of dark berry and cocoa flavour. Mick shocked me when he said the alcohol content listed was 15%. You wouldn’t have guessed that by the taste as it wasn’t at all hot. The ladies thought since the wine had a lot of cocoa flavour to it, I would be interesting to try with some chocolate truffles that Kathy got for Christmas. There were soon lots of “Oh’s, Ah’s and moans” echoing throughout the room from both of the ladies. I tried one too and must say it was an amazing pairing.

Here is the group rating for the wine – Mick - 87, Mark - 90, Kathy – 88, Amy - 89, Overall – 88.5

As I mention earlier, I’d forgotten about this wine but I’d guess it was probably about $20 a bottle at the LCBO when I picked it up originally.

Click here for Part 3

Happy *sniffle* New Year! Part 1

New Year’s Eve dinner with Mick and Amy is an event I looked forward to all year long and this year was no exception. Usually we go with a much higher end bottle of wine to celebrate the evening. I had been looking at a certain bottle since May and thinking it would be perfect for New Year’s Eve. Unfortunately one of the surprise gifts I’d got from family over Christmas was a cold – the gift that keeps on giving! By New Year’s Eve I was getting over it but my senses weren’t a 100% so I toned down the wine picks for the evening.

"Shrimp and Scallops in a garlic cream sauce"

Between Christmas and New Year’s I had a chance to review all of the articles for 2009 on Zippy Sauce. I was happy at how many new wines that we’d tried over the past year. What I wasn’t so happy about was the lack of new food dishes. Being without a kitchen due to renovations for a good chunk of 2008, when I got it back, I was tending to do a lot of old favourites that we hadn’t had in awhile. This also allowed me to get used to the new stove; gas rather than the electric took some getting use to. I made an early New Year’s resolution to get back to trying more new recipes and tonight’s menu would be the start of this.

Kathy found a recipe for shrimp and scallops in a roasted garlic creamed sauce in one of the recipe books we own. The recipe looked interesting but did call for a decent amount of Ice wine. I wasn’t too keen about using a $50 bottle of Ice wine to cook with but as luck would have it, Kathy received a homemade bottle of Ice wine as a gift just before Christmas so we were all set. The recipe was from a Canadian winery (hence using a $50 bottle of Ice wine to cook with!) and recommended a Chardonnay as the perfect pairing for this dish. I picked a bottle of Joseph Phelps 2004 Chardonnay that I had on hand to go with the dish.

"Joseph Phelps Chardonnay?"

I love almost any red wine that I’ve tried from Joseph Phelps but had never tried any of their whites and was curious if it would be as magical as their reds.

The nose on the Chardonnay was big, with aromas of buttered toast, apricot, citrus and faint floral notes in the background. Tasting the wine you notice strong oak characteristics of huge creamy tasting vanilla but there was also some lemon flavour there as well. It wasn’t a bad pairing with the food but generally most of us enjoyed it more on its own.

Here is the group rating for the wine – Mick - 87, Mark - 88, Kathy – 86, Amy - 85, Overall – 86.5

I bought this in the US quite awhile back and vaguely remember it being around a $30-40 US price point ($50-60 CDN after duty, exchange and taxes.) I tried finding a current price from the Joseph Phelps’ website but they aren’t even listing a Chardonnay among the current listings. I will say the Chardonnay wasn’t bad but there are much better ones out there at its price point which maybe why there isn’t a listing on their site as they may have stopped making one and are just focusing on what they are good at instead.

The shrimp and scallops in a roasted garlic creamed sauce wasn’t bad. We all really liked the sauce but the scallops weren’t amazing(touch over cooked) but the shrimp were good. I’m never a big fan of cooking two types of seafood together as their cooking times to vary a bit so what is good for one maybe too long for the other or vice versa. There was a ton of sauce left over and Mick told me to save it and he was going to use it this Saturday in a risotto. Mick and I both thought that grilling the shrimps and scallops on separate skewers vs. cooking the in the pan together would make this recipe much better if I attempt it again.

Click here for Part 2