Saturday Night – 3 very different dishes

This past Saturday night Mick and Amy were hosting and Mick had 3 very different recipes on tap.

"Bite sized yummy goodness"

The first course with Smoked Salmon rolls with herbed Goat cheese and watercress paired with a 2006 Truchard Carneros Chardonnay.

"2006 Truchard-onnay"

The nose on the wine was mushroom/fungal with pineapple and vanilla in the background. Tasting the wine you’ll notice lemon, white grapefruit and vanilla flavours. I found this wine had a bitter flavour to it on its own but that went away with the food. My wife describe this wine as a ‘food wine’ meaning she too wasn’t a big fan of it on its own but really like it with the food. It was good with the salmon but I think this wine would really shin with a fettuccine Alfredo.

"Onion Bhajjis"

Here is the group rating for the wine – Mick - 87, Mark - 84, Kathy – 86, Amy – 86, Overall – 85.75.

"Grilled Chicken Wings"

I couldn’t find any LCBO information on the Truchard Chardonnay but they did have a Truchard Zinfandel for $21 listed so I’m guessing it will be around that same price point.

"Light dessert"

The next course was Mick’s first attempt at Onion Bhajji’s. My father used to make these all the time when I was a kid and I loved them so I was interested to see how Mick did with these – and for a first attempt they were pretty damn good and I hope he does them again in the future. He paired them with a 2007 Eroica Riesling which we have review before - http://zippysauce.blogspot.com/2010/01/saturday-night-everybody-was-kung-fu_19.html but I will add the wine was a very strong pairing with the food.


For the main course Mick did two new types of grilled chicken wings and paired them with a 2007 Seghesio Zinfandel. I liked the wings but preferred his Dijon-marmalade ones more. The Seghesio was its usual excellent self. We didn’t review this one either as we have reviewed it before.

Amy picked up a chocolate cake for dessert which was a nice way to finish the evening.

Thanks to Mick for a three very different, yet very good dishes.

Cheers!

Mark

Saturday Night – Mick’s big Four Oh bash!

This past Saturday night we got together with Mick and Amy, Chris and Jan and John and Kim to celebrate Mick’s 40^th Birthday. I did a five course tasting menu and paired each course with wine. Chris and Jan were nice enough to bring dessert which was an amazing Bowling themed chocolate cake which I also paired with wine.

"Who's 40?"

The six wines were all different grape varieties from four different regions. The wines are also wines that I have reviewed before so this Blog entry won’t be reviewing any of them in detail.

"Honey Gorgonzola Crostinis"

Here is the menu –


Gorgonzola dip and Honey Gorgonzola Crostinis paired with a 2008 Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc

Sausage, Pasta and Bean soup paired with a 2003 Rutherford Hill Merlot

Fried Coconut Shrimp with a Honey Mustard and Horseradish dip paired with a 2007 Max Ferd. Richter Kabinett Riesling

Island Pork Tenderloin paired with a 2003 Rosenblum Zinfandel

Chicken Caesar Salad paired with a 2006 Louis Jadot Chardonnay

Chocolate Cake with a 1999 Beringer’s Cabernet Sauvignon

"Gorgonzola Dip"

"2008 Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc"

It actually worked out to be nine bottles of wine as for all the white wines pairings there were two bottles of each so we got though quite a bit of wine for eight people. My favourites for the night were the Beringer’s Cab and the Rutherford Hill Merlot as they were both excellent and I was a bit sad that they were my last bottles of each. I was a little disappointed in the Rosenblum as a pairing; it is a usually a very fruit forward wine but as this was a 2003 the fruit was almost all gone and black Liquorice flavour dominated the wine. I liked the Liquorice flavour but the Island pork needed a more fruit forward Zinfandel as a pairing. Mick and I both thought 2003 Rosenblum would be a fantastic pairing with his chicken Quesadillas.

"Sausage, Pasta and Bean Soup"

"My last of this Beauty"

"Coconut Shrimp fresh from pan"

"Coconut Shrimp with Honey-Mustard Horseradish dip"

I also had no trouble drinking more than my fair share of the Louis Jadot Chardonnay with the Caesar salad as that has always been a great pairing.

"Setup for Island Pork"

"Island Pork"

"2003 Rosenblum Zinfandel"

"Caesar Salad prep"

"Chicken Caesar salad"

"Louis Jadot Chardonnay"

"Mick with the cake"

"Close-up with the Bowling Cake"

"Last bottle of a Zippy Sauce Top Ten Red"

I would like to thank everyone for attending as the atmosphere around the table was awesome with lots of conversation and laugher. A special thanks to Amy for all these great pictures you are looking at. Finally to Chris and Jan for going above and beyond with the Bowling Cake which was perfect.


Happy Birthday Buddy!

Cheers!

Mark

February Wine Club – New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc

This month at Wine Club we took a look at two New Zealand Blancs; a 2009 3 Stones and a 2009 Cloudy Bay.

"$30 vs. $13, who will win?"

Here is the LCBO information on both wines –


3 STONES SAUVIGNON BLANC 2009


VINTAGES 207159
750 mL bottle
Price: $ 12.95
Wine, White Wine
12.5% Alcohol/Vol.
Sugar Content : XD
Made in: New Zealand, New Zealand
By: Ager Sectus Company Limited
Release Date: Jan 8, 2011

Tasting Note - Light and fragrant, with pretty melon, green herb and lime flavors that keep singing through the finish. Drink now. Score - 89. (Harvey Steiman, www.winespectator.com, March 31, 2010)


CLOUDY BAY SAUVIGNON BLANC 2009


VINTAGES 304469
750 mL bottle
Price: $ 29.95
Wine, White Wine
13.5% Alcohol/Vol.
Sugar Content : XD
Made in: New Zealand, New Zealand
By: Cloudy Bay Vineyards
Release Date: May 19, 2010

Tasting Note - Forget all about typecasting Marlborough sauvignon blanc; this wine, like Greywacke, has outstanding structure, balance, line and length; the variety is almost irrelevant, for this is terroir speaking through the long-practised mouthpiece of the Cloudy Bay winemaking team. Score - 95. (James Halliday, www.winecompanion.com.au, Feb. 14, 2010)

The 3 Stones was the take home bottle for Wine Club members and the Cloudy Bay was purchased as a comparison bottle. I was a touch nervous about this meeting for a couple of reasons; Cloudy Bay has been, in my opinion, the Sauvignon Blanc that all New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs are compared to as it has been consistently review in a positive light for years. So taking a $13 unknown wine up against a $30 benchmark of New Zealand excellence was a little daunting. Especially if it failed as it was the take home bottle (i.e. Wine Club members would be stuck with it). I also had a Wine Club member who would list Cloudy Bay among her favourite wines of all time.

I remember pouring out the 3 Stones and saying to myself ‘smells like a Sauvignon Blanc at least’. Oddly enough the nose on the 3 Stones was more aromatic then the Cloudy Bay. The nose on the 3 Stones and the Cloudy Bay both had gooseberry and cut grass but the 3 Stones also had a yeasty aroma and some pear whereas the Cloudy Bay had a lime aroma to it.

Tasting the 3 Stones, flavours of lime, lemon, and herbs were noticeable. The Cloudy Bay’s flavors were lime and grapefruit. The Cloudy Bay was also smoother tasting and had a longer finish then the 3 Stones. The 3 Stones had more sharpness and bite to it, though this surprisingly wasn’t a bad thing as I actually found it gave this wine more character.

Monica brought in cheeses, Beachroad Kielbasa, roasted red pepper dip and crackers to go with the wine. The cheeses and roasted red pepper dip were stunning with the wine, the Kielbasa was OK with the wine.

Asking for feedback on the wine, a number of Wine Club members were very happy that the 3 Stones was the take home wine, including my Cloudy Bay fan. I found myself enjoying them both equally but if I was to pick between 2 bottles of 3 Stones vs. 1 bottle of Cloudy Bay, I would take the 3 Stones hands down.

The 3 Stones at $13 a bottle is a very good value and I would highly recommend grabbing some before the LCBO runs out of stock.

Cheers!

Mark

Saturday Night – Three new wines – Part 3

Click here for Part 1

The main course was grilled Halibut with a curried corn salsa and rice. Mick paired this with a 2003 Reichsgraf von Kesselstatt Scharzhofberger Spätlese Riesling.

"Just for the Halibut"

The nose on this wine was fainted and you had to swirl the glass a bit to get to the apple aroma. Tasting the wine you get an interesting mix of apricot, orange and Macintosh apple. The structure to the wine was off a bit as there was an oiliness to it due to the lack of acidity. This was however a superb pairing with food as the flavours of the wine really came to life with the food.

"Interesting"

Here is the group rating for the wine – Mick - 87, Mark - 86, Kathy – 85, Amy – 87, Overall – 85.25

Here is the LCBO information on the wine –

REICHSGRAF VON KESSELSTATT RIESLING SPÄTLESE 2003


VINTAGES 712471
750 mL bottle
Price: $ 21.95
Wine, White Wine
11.5% Alcohol/Vol.
Sugar Content : MS
Made in: Moselle/Saar/Ruwer, Germany
By: Reichsgraf Von Kesslerstatt
Release Date: Nov 27, 2010
Tasting Note - A lush, voluminous Riesling, with ripe apricot, lime and mineral lurking in the background. The structure is apparent from midpalate through finish, suggesting this needs more time to integrate. Best from 2006 through 2016. Score - 90. (Bruce Sanderson, www.winespectator.com, Feb. 28, 2005)

I’d like to thank Mick for the food and the three new wines as it was fun to try all of them. It is nice to be back to a usual Saturday routine again as well.

Cheers!

Mark

Saturday Night – Three new wines – Part 2

For the second course Mick did curried mussels and paired the dish with a 2008 August Kesseler Riesling.

"Always Amazing!"

A strong aroma of peaches was found on the nose of this wine. Tasting the wine you’ll notice a green apple flavour to it. The wine was also sweeter than I expected and without much complexity. On the upside, it was easy to drink and went nicely with curried mussels.

"Simple and easy drinking"

Here is the group rating for the wine – Mick - 85, Mark - 83, Kathy – 85, Amy – 88, Overall – 85.25


Here is the LCBO information on the wine –

AUGUST KESSELER R RIESLING 2008


Vintages 192641
750 mL bottle
Price: $ 15.95
Wine, White Wine
10.5% Alcohol/Vol.
Sugar Content : MD
Made in: Rhine Rhinegau, Germany
By: Weingut August Kesseler
Release Date: Dec 11, 2010

Tasting Note - Driven by its mineral side, this white offers a mix of stone, pineapple, peach and grapefruit. Lively and balanced, lingering with a juicy, peppery finish. Drink now through 2016. Score - 89. (Bruce Sanderson, www.winespectator.com, Feb. 28, 2010)

You’ll notice in the group ratings that here is a pretty big rating difference between Amy’s rating (88) and mine (83); this is easily explained, due to Amy being total and complete sweet Riesling whore and if the Kool-aid man jumps out of a glass of Riesling, she gives it 5 extra points on that alone. Just kidding, she liked it for what it was and how good it was with the food and I on the other hand thought we’ve had much better Rieslings.

The curried mussels were awesome as always.

Click here for Part 3

Saturday Night – Three new wines – Part 1

Mick and Amy hosted this past Saturday night’s dinner. Mick had two new recipes on tap and three new wines to try as well.

"Mick's Insalata Caprese salad"

The first course was Mick’s version of Insalata Caprese salad, which is usually made from tomatoes, basil and Buffalo mozzarella, Mick’s version had these but he also added sliced red onion and sliced avocado. He paired this with a 2008 Amayna Sauvignon Blanc.

"Holy Heat Batman!"

The nose on the wine was a mix of lime, white grapefruit and cut crass. Tasting the wine the first thing you’ll notice is the heat or alcohol of the wine with some grapefruit and butter in the background. Mick described this wine as Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc with a shot of vodka and that is a pretty good description. I did however like this wine with the food but wasn’t as keen about it on its own.


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

Here is the LCBO information on the wine –

AMAYNA SAUVIGNON BLANC 2008


Vintages 77693
750 mL bottle
Price: $ 17.95
Wine, White Wine
14.5% Alcohol/Vol.
Sugar Content : XD
Made in: Chile, Chile
By: Viña Garcés Silva
Release Date: Jun 26, 2010


Tasting Note - Very fresh, with bracing lemon peel, white asparagus and herb notes backed by a clean, salt-tinged finish. Deliciously pure. Drink now. Score - 90. (James Molesworth, www.winespectator.com, June 30, 2009)

I’m huge fan of Insalata Caprese salad and wasn’t sure about Mick’s changes to it, but after trying it I found it was a nice change of pace from the original recipe.

Click here for Part 2