Saturday Night – Taking the “Pro” out of Propane – Part 2

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Mick for the main course did his famous Chicken Quesadillas and picked a 2007 Truchard Carneros Zinfandel as his pairing.

"Mick's famous Chicken Quesadillas"

The nose on this wine was huge and easy to find, and funny enough the first scent of it reminded me of a Coffee Crisp chocolate bar as it had aromas of mocha and chocolate, there was also clove, cardamom and faint strawberry lingering in the background. Tasting the wine there were flavours of cherry, smoke, black licorice. The structure of the wine wasn’t quite right as it had a sharp/hot mouth feel and no finish to speak of. It was a decent pairing with the Quesadillas but I much prefer Seghesio Zinfandel as a pairing over this one. I really liked the nose on this wine as it was one of the best aromas I have ever found off a Zinfandel; it is too bad the rest of the experience didn’t match the nose.

"Amazing nose, the rest of it not so much..."

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


Here is the LCBO information on this wine –

TRUCHARD ZINFANDEL 2007

VINTAGES 54858
750 mL bottle
Price: $ 21.95
Wine, Red Wine
14.2% Alcohol/Vol.
Sugar Content : D
Made in: California/Californie, United States
By: Truchard Vineyards
Release Date: May 1, 2010

Description - Truchard uses a tiny 4-acre (1.6 ha) vineyard for the creation of high-quality, small-production Zinfandel. They mature the wines for 10 months in a combination of French and American oak (35% new). The winery claims this is the only Zinfandel produced exclusively from Napa Valley Carneros fruit. The results speak for themselves. Look for black cherry, cranberry and boysenberry aromas overlaid with hints of mint, cedar and black pepper. Dry, with exceptional fruit, soft tannins and vibrant acidity conspiring to produce an extremely well-balanced wine. Enjoy it tonight with a grilled rare Angus beef steak.
 

"The low calorie part of the evening"

For dessert Amy picked up a chocolate truffle cake that everyone enjoyed.

I would like to thank Mick and Amy for hosting as the food was excellent and it was fun to try a couple of new wines.

Cheers!

Mark

Saturday Night – Taking the “Pro” out of Propane – Part 1

Mick and Amy were hosting this past Saturday night’s dinner. Dinner ended up being an adventure, as Mick ran out of Propane after the first course, so Mick and I had to head to my place to finish barbequing the main course. Running out of Propane isn’t really a big deal and it happens but after I got my natural gas line but in I gave Mick my Propane tank so he actually has three of them. When you own three tanks of Propane and still manage to run out of gas that is skill. On the upside, at least I have something to ride him about for the next month or so.

"Too Good for Words..."

For the first course Mick did grilled Scallops on tortillas with an avocado salsa. This is one of my favourite recipes that Mick does, and it is one historically we have had trouble finding the right pairing for. We have paired this dish with Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Gris, Viognier and none of them worked. Tonight we tried a Santa Margherita Prosecco di Valdobbiadene as the pairing.

The nose of this sparkling white wine consisted of yeast and rose and was very faint. Tasting the wine you’ll notice hazelnut, lime and pear as the main flavours. It liked the balance on the wine but would have liked just a touch more acidity to it. It was easily the best pairing that we have found so far for this dish and complimented the food wonderfully.

"Great Pairing"

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

Here is the LCBO information on this wine –

SANTA MARGHERITA BRUT VALDOBBIADENE PROSECCO SUPERIORE

VINTAGES 687582
750 mL bottle
Price: $ 17.95
Wine, Sparkling Wine
11.5% Alcohol/Vol.
Sugar Content : XD
Made in: Veneto, Italy
By: S. Margherita S.P.A.
Release Date: Dec 11, 2010

Tasting Note - Appearance: pale straw with a lime tint. Nose: minerally, nutty, peach. Taste: light to medium-bodied, dry, bitter almond and citrus flavours. Score - 4 Stars (out of 5). (Tony Aspler, www.tonyaspler.com, Feb. 17, 2010)

The scallops were excellent as always and it was very nice to finally find a good wine pairing for this course.

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January Wine Club – Portuguese Reds

This month for Wine Club we examined two red wines from the Alentejo region of Portugal. The 2007 Esporão Reserva was recommended to me by my local vintages rep. and it was the take home bottle for Wine Club this month. I needed a comparison bottle; usually I like something from the same area or the same grape. As the Esporão is a blend, I decided to go with another red from the same area. The only other Portuguese red from the Alentejo region my local LCBO had in stock was a bright pink labeled bottle called “Sexy”. I had my doubts about “Sexy” but since it was just the comparison bottle I thought ‘What the heck, let’s give “Sexy” a try!’

Here is the LCBO Information -

ESPORÃO RESERVA RED (V)

Vintages # 606590
750 mL bottle
Price: $ 25.95
Wine, Red Wine
14.5% Alcohol/Vol.
Sugar Content : XD
Made in: Alentejo, Portugal
By: Fingara
Release Date: May 15, 2010


Description - Made from a blend of Aragónes (aka Tempranillo), Cabernet Sauvignon and the local Trincadeira grape, this wine is a very modern take on Portugal. Dark, dense and very fruity, it has pronounced flavours and aromas of mixed berries, new leather, coconut and spice. Boisterous and approachable, it has a New World-meets-Old World style and makes a great companion to barbecued or grilled Angus beef steaks or gourmet sausages.

FITA PRETA SEXY TINTO 2008

Vintages # 144485
Volume - 750mL
Price: $ 18.95
Wine, Red Wine
14.0% Alcohol/Vol.
Sugar Content : D
Made in: Alentejo, Portugal
By: Fita Preta Vinhos Lda.
Release Date: Dec 11, 2010

Tasting Note - Deep ruby in the glass with a provocative bouquet of sweet red fruits, intense blackberry, and a hint of black licorice. Dry, medium bodied and made in an appealing, fruit-forward style that does not sacrifice the overall balance. Smooth, seductive finish. Perfect for a quiet evening with friends over a roast leg of lamb or some roast beef. (VINTAGES panel, April 2010)

The Esporão had an interesting nose of Blackberry, Licorice, Black Currant and Cedar. Tasting the wine I found it to be a touch tannic but with rich flavours of dark cherry, mint and leather. I liked this wine but felt it needed a couple of years down to soften the tannin. One of our Wine Club member’s brought in spicy sausage in tomato sauce with various types of breads to go with it. The Esporão with the sausage was very good as the food neutralized the tannin and this wine just came to life.

The “Sexy” had a big easy to find nose that was dominated with Blueberry and Spice with some oak in the back ground. Tasting the wine I was pleasantly surprised; very soft and approachable wine with soft tannin though lacking a bit in acidity. The main flavour to the wine was strawberry. With the food this wine got lost at times but was a decent pairing never the less. This wine is more of a drink now and doubt aging it would add much to it.

Wine Club was split on preference between the two wines, though most people preferred the Sexy on its own and the Esporão with the food. I like to thank Dorie for bringing in the food as it was very good and made a great pairing with the wines.

I will be putting my bottle of Esporão down for a few years and am very much looking forward to trying it again in the future. As for Sexy, there is a part of me that is tempted to pick up another bottle or two as it was quite good for the price and with its bright pink bottle and the name, it might make an interesting Valentine’s Day gift.

Next month we will be looking at two very different Sauvignon Blancs from New Zealand.

Cheers!

Mark

Saturday Night – Old Favourites – Part 3

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For dessert I wanted to have a 1998 Remo Farina Amarone. I did up a cheese tray with St. Pauline, Stilton and a Chipotle goat cheese and a chocolate tray with 70% dark chocolate squares and dark chocolate cookies.

"Tray of Goodies"

The nose on the wine reminded Mick of strawberry wafer cookies and there was a definite strawberry aroma on the nose with cedar and eucalyptus notes. Cherry was the dominate flavour to the wine with a bit of pine/menthol there as well. The structure on the wine was very good; nice balance and very approachable. It was a great pairing with both the cheese and the chocolate trays. I was worried about how the spice/heat of the Chipotle goat cheese would work but it was very good with wine.

"A perfect wine to end the evening with"

Here is the group rating for the wine – Mick - 89, Mark - 90, Kathy – 90, Amy – 89, Overall – 89.5.

The LCBO listing on this wine is long since gone as I bought this back in 2008 for a Wine Club meeting - http://zippysauce.blogspot.com/2008/05/wine-club-10th-meeting.html. The LCBO details can be found in the link.

It was a fun night with Mick and Amy and I forgot how good that Island Pork recipe was; it will certainly become a staple on my recipe rotation going forward.
Cheers!

Mark

Saturday Night – Old Favourites – Part 2

For the main course I did Island Pork. Here is the link to the recipe –

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Island-Pork-Tenderloin-Salad-108103

It is an odd recipe to do during winter, as I think of this one as more of Spring/Summer recipe but doing this recipe in winter does make me forget the cold for a moment or two.

"Island Pork Tenderloin"

I picked a 2001 Yalumba Barossa Shiraz as my pairing for this dish. In the past I usually pair Island Pork with red Zinfandel (which is a great pairing) but my lovely wife has been asking me for a Shiraz pairing recently and I thought this dish would work with it.

"Pork Tenderloin with Spice Rub"

The nose on the Yalumba was big with black cherry and licorice with a hint of black pepper. Tasting the wine, flavours of cherry, eucalyptus and dark chocolate are noticeable. The structure of the wine was good with smooth/ velvety tannin and medium acidity. The finish on the wine was very brief which was a bit of a surprise. It did make a good pairing with the Island pork, but I personally would have preferred a Zinfandel.

"Another solid Shiraz from Yalumba"

Here is the group rating for the wine – Mick - 88, Mark - 88, Kathy – 88, Amy – 87, Overall – 87.75

I have no LCBO information for this wine. It looks like the current release is 2008 so I have had this wine on the rack for a few years. If memory serves I believe it was around a $30-35 price point.

Click here for Part 3

Saturday Night – Old Favourites – Part 1

This past Saturday night it was my turn to host our usual Saturday night dinner. I was in the mood to do something different and picked French Onion Soup (or in Amy’s case, Croutons with a touch of soup) and Island Pork. Both these recipes I have done before but I hadn’t done them in a long time.

"French Onion Soup"

We started with the French Onion Soup, which with the cold weather was a nice way for Mick and Amy to warm up after their trek down to our house. I paired this with a 2009 Tokara Sauvignon Blanc from South Africa, which I’d picked up from the LCBO earlier in the week.

"Freshly Baked Croutons"

The nose on the wine was surprising different for a Sauvignon Blanc as it was dominated by Peach and Green Apple with a touch of Gooseberry in the background. Tasting the wine, you’ll notice a white grapefruit flavour with a hint of vanilla. The acidity to the wine was crisp, though at time leaned towards tart. With the French Onion it was OK; the tart grapefruit flavour softened a bit but the wine got a little funky at times with the food. One odd thing I noticed, was that if you had the wine with just a crouton, the taste reminded me of French Champagne (without the bubbles of course).

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

"Great Value"

Here is the LCBO information on the wine –

TOKARA SAUVIGNON BLANC 2009

VINTAGES 183954
750 mL bottle
Price: $ 14.95
Wine, White Wine
13.5% Alcohol/Vol.
Sugar Content : D
Made in: South Africa, South Africa
By: Tokara Winery
Release Date: Oct 16, 2010

Description - Packed with tropical fruit, melon and floral notes, this crisp, clean Sauvignon Blanc is such a delightful sipper that you may not have any left by the time the main course is served. If you can hold out that long, though, savour it with herbed tuna steaks, or chicken in a coconut and herb sauce.

At $15 a bottle this wine is a very good value. There is still a decent amount of stock left at the LCBO so if you are in the market for a value priced Sauvignon Blanc I strongly suggest picking a bottle or two up.

Click here for Part 2

Saturday Night – Back to normal – Part 2

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For the main course, Mick did Grilled NY Strips with mixed veggies and roasted potatoes. He paired this with a 2002 Beringer’s Knights Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. I was looking forward to trying Knights Valley again as it has been awhile. As the 1999 vintage sits in the Top Ten Reds, I couldn’t wait to see how the 2002 vintage was.

"NY Strip Grilled to Perfection"

Nosing the wine brought a smile to my lips; green pepper, raspberry and leather. A number of California Cabs have an aroma to them that we joking call, ‘smells like love’. I haven’t nailed down into words what aromas or combination of aromas make up that ‘love’ but the 2002 has it in spades. Tasting the wine I was a little caught off guard as there was raspberry and cherry flavour to the wine but also a coffee flavouring there too. The wine was a touch tannic which when combined with the coffee flavour gave this wine a slight bitterness to the mid-palate. Knights Valley Cabs are generally very fruit forward and exceptionally smooth and this one was a little outside that normal which I wasn’t overly happy about but Mick really liked that the wine was different. One thing we both agreed on was that the wine absolutely a killer pairing with the meal.

"Same as the 1999?"

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

I won’t bother with an LCBO listing here as I know they are at least up to the 2006 vintage now and they don’t carry the 2002 anymore. Knight’s Valley generally ranges in price at the LCBO from $30-39 a bottle.

"At least some cake left..."

For dessert Amy picked up a Baco Chocolate Cake for dessert. Mick cracked open a bottle of Cathedral Cellars Cab from South Africa to go with this. We didn’t formally taste or review this wine but the general impression around the table was everyone liked it.

I like to thank Mick and Amy for hosting as it was a good night. It was also very good to just have a ‘normal’ Saturday night again.

Cheers!

Mark

Saturday Night – Back to normal – Part 1

With the holidays, vacations, etc. out of the way, it was nice to get back to a ‘normal’ Saturday night dinner with Mick and Amy. Mick and Amy were hosting for the evening. Mick did grilled shrimp with a peanut Satay dipping sauce as the starter. He paired this with a 2008 Pfaffenberg Schloss Schonborn Kabinett Riesling.

"Grilled Shimp with Satay sauce"

The nose the wine was an interesting mix of lime, floral, peach. Tasting the wine before the food, I noticed a sweet apple flavour to it. The structure of the wine wasn’t bad but it seemed to be lacking a racy acidity that would have helped offset the sweetness of the wine and therefore the wine seemed a bit sloppy at times. There were a couple of big upsides to this wine though; it was very easy drinking and it was a very strong pairing with the Satay shrimp.

"Easy to drink!"

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

 Here is the LCBO information on this wine -

SCHLOSS SCHÖNBORN RIESLING KABINETT 2008

VINTAGES 70946
750 mL bottle
Price: $ 18.95
Wine, White Wine
9.5% Alcohol/Vol.
Sugar Content : MD
Made in: Rhine Rhinegau, Germany
By: Karl Graf V. Schonborn
Release Date: Nov 27, 2010

Tasting Note -Lilac, white peach, honeydew melon, and pink grapefruit alluringly scent Schonborn's 2008 Hattenheimer Pfaffenberg Riesling Kabinett, which originated in one of several passes on the oldest vines in this monopole. Lushly fruited and refreshingly juicy, this displays to a striking degree the textural refinement and delicacy of which the vintage is capable, and finishes caressingly and with a sense of floating-off. Savor this lullaby of Riesling over the next 12-15 years. Score - 91. (David Schildknecht, www.erobertparker.com, Feb. 2010).

I’m touch surprised at the Tasting notes and the 91 rating above. The nose was nice but taste and structure to this Riesling were nowhere near good enough to justify a 91 rating. Don’t get me wrong, I liked this wine but there are much better ones out there around the same price point.

Click here for Part 2