Saturday Night – A Ray of Sunshine – Part 3

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For dessert, Chris made Crème Brûlée and this was paired with a 2010 Vineland Estates Vidal Ice Wine.

 

The nose was a pretty mix of honeysuckle, peach, clover and caramelized sugar.  The taste was very straight forward as Macintosh Apple dominated the wine, though it did finish with a spicy (clove/pumpkin spice) finish.  The structure was a touch off as the acidity wasn’t high enough to offset the sweetness of the wine and it came across as cloying/syrupy but it did have a nice long finish to it.  The wine did work as a very good pairing with the dessert.  I wasn’t a huge fan of it on its own as it was just too sweet.

Here is the group rating for the wine - Mick – 87, Mark – 87, Amy – 87, Chris/Jan – 87 Overall – 87.

 

Here is the LCBO information on the wine –

 

VINELAND RIESLING ICEWINE 2008

VINTAGES 563445
375 mL bottle
Price $ 39.95
This is a VQA wine
Made in: Ontario, Canada
By: Vineland Estate Wines Limited
Release Date: May 26, 2012
Wine, Icewine
9.0% Alcohol/Vol.
Varietal: Icewine
Sugar Content: 220 g/L
Sweetness Descriptor: MS - Medium Sweet

 

Description  -  Best in Show at the 2010 Florida International Wine Show.

 

Tasting Note -  Fantabulous Riesling Icewine that shows just how elegant sweet wines can be. Aromas suggest mango, apricot, marmalade, honeycomb, poached pear and lime cordial. Medium-sweet with terrific fruit flavours followed immediately by a brilliant ribbon of acidity to keep things very fresh. A superb dessert wine that is adaptable with dishes such as key lime pie, lemon custard or even as a nicely chilled after-meal sipper. (VINTAGES panel, March 2012)

*Note – the LCBO listing is for the Riesling Ice wine and not the Vidal Ice wine in the review as it was the closest I could find.

 

Thanks to both Chris and Jan for hosting and for all the wonderful food and wine. 

 

I wrote at the beginning of this article that I was looking forward to this dinner and am happy to say this dinner truly was that ray of sunshine I was looking for to brighten a lousy weather week.

 

Cheers!

 

Mark 

Saturday Night – Everything is Rosé – Part 2

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The main course was a new recipe which Mick found from the Beer Bistro Cookbook – Chicken wings in a honey brown ale sauce with fresh cut fries.  Mick paired this with a 2010 Montes Cherub Syrah Rosé from Chile.

 

The nose on the wine was a milder as you did have to swirl the glass a bit to bring it to life and were rewarded with a nice mix of nutmeg, cranberry juice, strawberry and ginger ale.  Tasting the wine, you’ll find flavors of strawberry, sage and pepper.  The structure on the wine was good, not overly acidic or tannic with a nice lingering finish.  The wine was pretty easy drinking but did come across slightly tart at times.  I was surprised at how good of a pairing the wine was with the wings as the cumin flavour on the wings was quite dominate but the wine handled it effortlessly. 

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

Here is the LCBO information on the wine –

MONTES CHERUB SYRAH ROSE
LCBO 317982
750 mL bottle
SEASONAL/LIMITED QUANTITIES
Price $ 11.95
Made in: Region Not Specified, Chile
By: Montes S.A.
Wine, Rosé Wine
13.5% Alcohol/Vol.
Varietal: Rose
Sugar Content: 6 g/L
Sweetness Descriptor: XD - Extra Dry

At $12 a bottle this wine is a very good value and with how well it worked with the wings, I could imagine a number of different food this wine would be a solid pairing for.

The wings were cooked to perfection, I liked the sauce but Mick has made better wing sauces so not sure I’d be in a rush to re-visit this particular one soon.

While Mick and Amy were away on vacation, I made cinnamon buns for the first time and Amy was a little pissed at me that she missed them.  As Amy is the official Zippy Sauce Photographer, I always want to keep her happy, so I agreed to make another batch for them.  I also brought my last bottle of 2005 Henry of Pelham Botrytis Affected Riesling to go with the cinnamon buns .  We have reviewed this wine before so I won’t go into much detail other than to say it has only gotten better with age and it was certain no slouch when we first tried it.

I really enjoyed the wide range of wines we had tonight and I am also thinking that I really should pick up some more Rosés in the near future as they are quite good in taste and price point. 

Thanks to Mick for the great dishes and both Mick and Amy for hosting another wonderful Saturday night dinner.

Cheers!

Mark

Saturday Night – Something French and Dirty – Part 2

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For dessert I picked up scones and Devonshire Double Clotted Cream and strawberry jam to go on top of them.  I paired dessert with a 2005 Chateau Suau Sauternes

 

The nose on this wine was mild but did have lovely aromas of orange zest, grapefruit, licorice and verbena.  Tasting the wine, lemon, orange and mint were the main flavours to the wine.  The structure was good as the acidity and alcohol were able to balance the sweetness of the wine so it came across as fresh vs. cloying.   With the 14% alcohol level it was more like an Ice Wine Brandy than being like straight Ice wine/Late harvest/Dessert wine.  I haven’t really been a big fan of Sauternes in the past as I find they have a slight bitterness to them that I’m not a fan of but this one has me re-thinking that position as it was a real treat.

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

There was no LCBO information on the wine for 2005 or any vintage.  This was also another wine I picked up down at Premier.  A quick web search has the price at $14 US a bottle so with LCBO markup, exchange, taxes and duty I’d guess it would be in $25-30 range.  Not a bad value at that price point and if I come across the 2005 or any other year I certainly would pick up a bottle or two.

After the long hiatus it was great to have a usual Saturday night dinner with Mick and Amy and hopefully there will be more dinners in March than there were in February.

Cheers!

Mark

Saturday Night – Italy vs. Spain – Part 2

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The other wine we had with the two courses was the 2010 Fattoria le Fonti Chianti Classico from Italy.

 

The nose on the wine was pretty, with aromas of cherry, pine needle and vanilla but some heat was noticeable as well. The main flavour of the wine was cherry but it was more subtle than I was expecting from a Chianti. For the structure of the wine, heavy acidity with very faint tannin caused the balance of the wine to be off and it came across as hot on the finish. Unlike the Rioja, this wine was better on its own than with the food; with food the wine developed a bitter bite at times on finish which I didn’t like.

Here is the group rating for the wine - Mick – 89, Mark – 86 Kathy – 87, Amy – 87, Overall – 87.25.

Here is the LCBO information on the wine –

FATTORIA LE FONTI CHIANTI CLASSICO 2010

VINTAGES 295162
750 mL bottle
Price $ 15.75
CLEARANCE SALE
Was: $ 19.95
Now: $ 15.75
Save: $ 4.20
Made in: Tuscany, Italy
By: Societa Agricola Fattoria Le Fonti
Release Date: Sep 14, 2013
Wine, Red Wine
14.5% Alcohol/Vol.
Style: Full-bodied & Smooth
Varietal: Sangiovese
Sugar Content: 4 g/L
Sweetness Descriptor: XD - Extra Dry

Tasting Note - Black cherry and iris aromas with sweet chocolatey oak. Nice fresh fruit and refined tannins on the palate; quite round and soft for the vintage, but good tangy finish with sweet berry fruit. Drink: 2012-2015. Score - 90. (Richard Baudains, decanter.com, Nov. 2, 2012

Looking at the results, it seems like we have a tie in our Italy vs. Spain wine competition as both pulled the 87.25 overall rating. The Chianti at full price was more expensive than the Rioja but with the sale going on, it is now actually cheaper than the Rioja so was have a tie there as well. I would say this will come down to personal preference – you like fruit and acidity – grab the Chianti, you like a red with a dark flavours and tannin – grab the Rioja.

As for the food, the “Breechetta” was amazing as always and I really liked the style in how Mick did the pork chops as they were breaded but he did them in such a way that they didn’t feel starchy or heavy which was awesome.

For dessert we had a Caramel Crunch cake and paired this with a bottle of 2006 Dr. Loosen Beerenauslese Riesling.  We have reviewed  this wine before - http://zippysauce.blogspot.ca/2011/08/saturday-night-blackout-dinner-part-3.html so won’t be reviewing it again now.  I will add however that it was a lovely pairing with the Caramel Crunch cake and hope Mick has another bottle tucked away somewhere.

Thanks to Mick and Amy for hosting and to Mick for all his hard work in making all of that wonderful food.

Cheers!

Mark

Saturday Night – Bison Burgers for the win – Part 3

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For dessert, my Mom a week or so ago dropped off a frozen homemade apple crumble so we thought it would be fun to have that for dessert.  We also had a bottle of 2008 Megalomaniac Cold-hearted Ice-wine Riesling to go with this. 

 

The nose on the wine was big with lovely aromas of lychee, Jolly Rancher Melon flavored candy and some petrol lurking in the background as well.  Taste the wine, peach and green apple flavours with touch of vanilla were to be found.  The best way to describe this wine is if you took canned peach syrup and infused it with vodka you probably wouldn’t be far off from this.  The wine did have enough acidity to offset the sweetness of the wine which was nice.  You know a wine is freaking sweet when after it you have a sip of Pepsi and the Pepsi doesn’t seem sweet anymore.  The wine worked really nicely with the apples and cinnamon of the apple crumble dessert.

Here is the group rating for the wine - Mick – 87, Mark – 89, Kathy – 88, Amy – 87, Overall – 87.75.

Here is the LCBO information on the wine –

MEGALOMANIAC COLDHEARTED RIESLING ICEWINE 2010
VINTAGES 243519
200 mL bottle
Price $ 29.95
This is a VQA wine
Made in: Ontario, Canada
By: John Howard Cellars of Distinction
Release Date: Feb 11, 2013
Wine, Icewine
7.9% Alcohol/Vol.
Varietal: Icewine
Sugar Content: 222 g/L
Sweetness Descriptor: S - Sweet

Description -  Silver Medal winner at the 2012 Royal Agricultural Winter Fair, a prestigious competition now in its 90th year.

Tasting Note -  This attractively perfumed Icewine is a liquid golden colour in the glass, and serves up bountiful fragrances of honeysuckle, tangerine and peach, clementine, mango, pear and ripe pineapple. Mouthfilling and generously sweet with nervy acidity bringing perfect balance. There's some tangy lemon zest on the finish. A rousing success that shows why Riesling Icewine from Ontario is so enchanting. Savour with spicy spring rolls or freshly sliced melon, or mix it with equal parts sparkling wine for a lively cocktail. (VINTAGES panel, Nov. 2012)

* Note – the LCBO listing is for the 2011 vintage and not the 2008 vintage reviewed here.

At $29 a bottle (though it is a 200mL vs. a 375mL) it is decently price for the quality of wine that it is.  I wouldn’t rush out to buy more but I certainly would consider picking up a bottle if I was shopping for a dessert wine.

Thanks to Mick and Amy for hosting and to Mick for all his hard work that went into making those two wonderful dishes.

Cheers,

Mark

Saturday Night – It’s a sign – Part 2

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The main course was middle Lamb loin from Cumbrae’s with sliced garden tomatoes with feta and basil and green beans with butter and parmesan cheese.  I paired this with a 2004 Adelsheim Willamette Valley Pinot Noir. 

 

The nose on this wine was easy to find with huge aromas of cherry, herbs, mushroom, pine needle, sulfur and cedar.  Tasting the wine, you will find black cherry, raspberry with a hint of mint in the background.  The structure on the wine was phenomenal with acidity, silky tannins and alcohol all being in perfect balance together with a long finish.   The wine was a bit cloudy but didn’t show any bricking around the edges which was surprising considering its age.  It made a wonderful pairing for the lamb but was also very good with the tomato and green bean sides.  I’m not normally a huge pinot fan but this wine was big, complex and there was very little I could find fault with and I was sad when the bottle was empty.

Here is the group rating for the wine - Mick – 91, Mark – 92, Kathy – 91, Amy – 92, Overall – 91.5.
Bonus Rating – Chris – 91, Jan – 92.

There was no LCBO listing on the wine which isn’t a shock as I bought this down in NY state years ago.  Doing a quick web search puts the bottle price at $27-32 a bottle.  The 2011 is the current release so that shows it has been a few years since I bought the 2004.  This is one of those bottles that had I known it was going to be this good, I would have bought a case without even thinking about. 

For dessert I picked up mini Angel food cakes and topped them with a fresh berry medley, raspberry coulis and fresh whipped cream.  I really couldn’t resist doing something berry based as they are all in season and so inexpensive at this moment, it would have been a crime not to do this type dessert.  I opened a bottle of Henry of Pelham Late Harvest Riesling to go with the dessert (I have reviewed this before so won’t go into much detail).  The first time we had the 2006 Late Harvest Riesling we rated it a 86; this one certainly tasted better than that but I was disappointed on the nose of the wine as dessert wines usually have an amazing nose and this one was a bit funky so maybe the 86 isn’t too far off the mark.  The berry based dessert was also a good choice as I think we were all pretty full at this point and this lighter styled dessert was a great way to finish up.

 

Even though we didn’t get to go out for dinner, in the end, it worked out for the best as I believe any restaurant out there would have been hard pressed to match the quality of the food and wine of last night’s dinner.  It was great having Chris and Jan added to our usual Saturday night dinners and I am already looking forward to the next time we get together.

 

Cheers!

 

Mark

Saturday Night – Mick is pulling out all the stops – Part 4

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The final course of the evening was homemade lemon squares paired with a 2007 Peller Estates Riesling Ice-wine both of which were compliments of Chris and Jan.

 

The nose on the ice wine was lovely with lychee, orange zest, petrol and peach aromas. Tasting the wine flavours of mandarin oranges in syrup, peaches, pear with a touch of white pepper are to be found. The structure on this wine was perfect with lively acidity helping to offset the sweetness of the wine and the wine was topped off with a super long lingering finish. This wine was truly amazing on its own. It was a good pairing for the lemon squares but I think it worked better on its own.

Here is the group rating for the wine - Mick – 91, Mark – 90, Kathy – 92, Amy – 92, Overall – 91.25

Bonus Rating – Chris – 93, Jan – 92.

There was no LCBO information on this wine but Jan let me know it was $70 for a 375mL bottle. That is a bit pricey for an ice-wine in my opinion but this one is worth every penny as it was that good.

The 91.25 overall rating gets this wine firmly on the list of Top Ten Dessert, Sparkling and Port wines and with good reason; this easily one of the better ice wines I’ve ever had. I tend to lean towards late harvest wines as usually ice-wines are too sweet but this one didn’t come across as cloying or syrupy like other ones that I have tried.

The lemon squares were a very nice ending to a night of wonderful food. They were a lighter dessert which after all of Mick’s wonderful food were exactly what was needed.

I like to thank Mick and Amy for hosting. I would especially like to thank Mick for all his hard work in producing so many amazing dishes… you really outdid yourself buddy! Thanks to Chris and Jan for their dessert and the lovely wine to go with it but more importantly for their wonderful company.

It will be my turn to host next week but Mick has now set the bloody bar too high so I’m not even going to try. I’m thinking frozen fish sticks might be our dinner next Saturday so I can reset the bar. So what would the wine pairing be for store bought frozen fish sticks… I’m thinking that might be some lovely boxed white Zinfandel.

Cheers!

Mark

Saturday Night – Keeping it simple

It was my turn to host this past Saturday night’s dinner but Kathy and I just got back from Las Vegas on Friday so my goal was to keep the menu simple. I decided on Steak Fajitas and picked up dessert from the grocery store. I did the Steak Fajitas for Kathy and I about a month or so ago and they were very good and since then I have been meaning to do them for Mick and Amy.

 

Mick and Amy picked up a bottle of 2006 Clarendon Hills Syrah as a birthday present for Kathy 39^th birthday and Mick has been looking forward to trying it since then. I thought it would make a good pairing for the Fajitas.

The nose was a rich mix of eucalyptus, cocoa, plum, blackberry and coffee. You could also detect the heat/alcohol on the nose which wasn’t surprise as the alcohol content was listed as 16.1%. Tasting the wine the main flavours were chocolate, concentrated raspberry juice with hints of coffee and marzipan. The wine had a huge mouth-feel to it which I really liked. Good tannin and acidity levels but the wine still came across a slightly hot. The wine was also unfiltered as there was quite a bit of sediment in all of our glasses which isn’t unexpected as more intense filtering would have taken something away from this wine. It was a good pairing for the fajitas as it was big enough to stand up to all the flavours such as salsa, sour cream and guacamole that were heaped on to the fajitas.

Here is the group rating for the wine - Mick – 90, Mark – 89, Kathy – 89, Amy – 89, Overall – 89.25.　

There was no LCBO information on the wine as it was purchased over a year ago. Mick said it was around $89 at the time. I do want add that this was certainly one of the better Australian Shirazes I’ve tried probably because it reminded me more of a high end California Cabernet Sauvignon than an Australian Shiraz as I’m not the biggest fan of Australian Shiraz.

For dessert our local grocery store had a new La Rocca dessert – Swiss Chocolate Flan with Lindt chocolate that I picked up for dessert. By this time the Clarendon Hills Syrah was long gone so I cracked a bottle of 2005 Altair which is a Chilean Bordeaux style blend. We have reviewed this wine before so I won’t go into too much detail other than to say it was a very good pairing with the dessert. The Swiss Chocolate Fran was also one of the better La Rocca desserts we’ve had in a while too.

 

Thanks to Mick and Amy for the great company and for picking up the Clarendon Hills Syrah as it did make a great focal point for the night.

　

Cheers!

　

Mark

 

Saturday Night – A Thank You Dinner – Part 2

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For the main course I did Beef Tenderloin and Grilled Shrimp with Béarnaise sauce and Green Beans and Baby Potatoes paired with a 2005 Beringer’s Private Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon.

 

The nose on the Beringer’s was powerful with raspberry, all spice, dark chocolate, cinnamon and vanilla aromas.   Black cherry and dark chocolate were the two dominate flavours with some herbaceous notes in the background.  The wine was beautifully balanced with a long lingering finish.  My one small knock with this wine was I would have liked a slightly bigger mouth-feel to it.  As a pairing with the Beef it was heavenly.

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

Here is the LCBO information on the wine –

BERINGER PRIVATE RESERVE CABERNET SAUVIGNON 2009
VINTAGES 149955
750 mL bottle
Price $ 119.95
Made in: California, USA
By: Treasury Wine Estates
Release Date: Nov 24, 2012
Wine, Red Wine
14.6% Alcohol/Vol.
Varietal: Cabernet Sauvignon
Sugar Content: 3 g/L
Sweetness Descriptor: XD - Extra Dry

Tasting Note  - The 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon Private Reserve is a beautifully balanced wine. Firm yet well-integrated tannins frame a core of dark red berries, flowers, mint, spices and licorice. The Reserve shows lovely inner perfume and mid-palate juiciness. It should drink well with a minimum of cellaring. The main vineyards in the 2009 are Home (37%), Lampyridae (23%), Vogt (14%), Chabot (11%) and Rancho del Oso (9%). Each lot was aged separately for about two years before the final blend was assembled. Anticipated maturity: 2014-2029. Score - 93. (Antonio Galloni, erobertparker.com, Dec. 2011)

* Note – This is for the 2009 and not the 2005 reviewed here.

Mick said he would have rated this a 91 but the high price point was his main reason for dropping it to a 90.

The final course of the evening was Baked Apple Tart with Almond Custard with a 2005 Henry of Pelham Botrytis Affect Late Harvest Riesling.  We have reviewed the wine before so I won’t go into too much detail other than to say this is wine we open about once a year or so just to see how it is developing and each time it has been a real treat.  I have one bottle left of this wonderful vintage and will be sad when it is gone. 

The Baked apple tart was a nice way to finish off the evening as it is a lighter dessert and by this time we were all getting very full. 

Cathy and Tom both said that this was the best steak they’d ever had which was nice to hear.  Cathy also now could understand when I roll my eyes when she is gushing about the Keg. 

It was a fun evening and I really enjoy both Tom and Cathy’s company and hope we can do another one of these dinners in the fall.  I really have to thank Mick for cooking the steaks and the shrimp to perfection in some not so great weather conditions; he really went above and beyond the call of duty here.

Cheers!

Mark

Saturday Night – That’s Amore – Part 3

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The final course of the evening was an amazing homemade lemon tart that Jan and Chris made and they paired this with a 2008 Inniskillin Riesling Ice wine.

 

The nose was a powerful mix of lychee, pear, green apple and pineapple aromas.  Tasting the wine, lime and canned peaches were the two dominate flavours to this wine.  Structure-wise this wine was beautiful as the fresh acidity balanced out the sweetness of the wine.  The wine wasn’t cloying at all which isn’t something you can say about an Ice wine on a regular basis.  It was a stellar pairing with the lemon tart.

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

Here is the LCBO information on the wine –

INNISKILLIN RIESLING ICEWINE 2008
VINTAGES 558288
375 mL bottle
Price $ 69.95
This is a VQA wine
Made in: Ontario, Canada
By: Constellation Brands Inc.
Release Date: N/A
Wine, Icewine
9.0% Alcohol/Vol.
Varietal: Riesling
Sugar Content: 234 g/L
Sweetness Descriptor: S - Sweet

At $69 a bottle this is a touch high on what I expect to find an Ice wine for (usually I find $50 for Ice wine and $20-25 for Late Harvest Vidal is the ballpark) but it was easily good enough to justify that $20 premium. 

I want to thank Jan and Chris for the lovely dishes and great wine; I’m always blown away at how much effort they put into these nights and how good all the food is. 

This will be my last Blog post for 2012 and it is nice to end on a high note (once again thank you Chris and Jan!) and I would like to wish everyone a Happy New Year.

Cheers!

Mark

Saturday Night – I got VQA’d and I liked it – Part 5

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The final course of the evening was a selection of 5 different cheeses.  These were paired with a 2008 “Snow Angel” Riesling Ice wine by Angel’s Gate.

The nose on the Riesling was a lovely mix of orange zest, cinnamon hearts, and candied peaches.  Tasting the wine, an orange zest flavour dominates the wine but finishes more with a sweet orange pop flavour.  The acidity on this wine was much livelier than the Cab Franc Ice Wine and really helped offset the sweetness of the wine.  The finish was nice but it didn’t linger around as long as I would have liked.  The wine worked with all 5 of the cheeses and made a great finish to the night.

Here is the group rating for the wine –Mick – 87, Mark – 89, Kathy – 87, Amy – 88, Overall – 87.75.

Both Ice wines were purchase directly from the winery and were in the $40-50 price point. 

So 4 out 5 of the VQA wines weren’t just drinkable but damn good wines that worked beautifully with the food.  I never thought I’d have a night of VQA wines where I would really enjoy 80% of them. 

I would like to thank Chris and Jan for a truly great night of food and wine and for all their hard work that made the night so good.  We’ll be getting together in August for dinner with them as we all own a bottle or two of the 2007 Robert Mondavi Private Reserve Cabernet and we will be cracking one of them to see how good it is compared to the 2001 version we tried at our last get together.

Cheers!

Mark

Saturday Night – I got VQA’d and I liked it – Part 4

For dessert Chris and Jan made a hazelnut chocolate cake that they jokingly called “Ferrero Rocher” cake.  This was paired with a 2008 “Snow Angel” Cabernet Franc Ice wine by Angel’s Gate winery.

The nose on the “Snow Angel” Cabernet Franc was just like the aroma you get opening a bag of licorice allsorts.  Tasting the wine, you will find mango, raisin, cranberry and candied apple flavours that finish with spice overtones.  I liked this wine as a pairing for the cake but did find it was a little cloying at times and wished for a bit more acidity to help balance out the sweetness of the wine.

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

I liked the “Ferrero Rocher” cake as it was rich but not overly heavy and I was starting to get quite full at this point.

Click here for Part 5

Saturday Night – A Casual Dinner for Five – Part 3

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Jan and Chris were going to make dessert to go with the wine they’d brought but Chris had a small chocolate mishap while making the dessert so they brought a very nice selection of Lindt Chocolate to go with the wine.  I had some Raspberry coulis left from last week and decide to whip another batch of the same desserts we had last week.

The desserts were paired with a bottle of 2010 Tawse Cabernet Franc Ice Wine.

The nose on the wine was nice with ripe strawberries and some eucalyptus in the background.  Tasting it you get a mix between candy apple and cherry.  I liked the wine but it came across cloying at time as it was quite sweet and didn’t seem to have enough acidity to offset the sweetness properly.  It was however a good pairing with both the raspberry dessert and all of the chocolate which was impressive as those were two completely different flavours.

Here is the group rating for the wine –Mick* – 87, Mark – 86, Kathy – 87, Amy – 89, Overall – 87.25.

 

I couldn’t find any LCBO listing for this as I suspect that Chris and Jan picked this up at the winery directly.  As Jan reads the Blog on a regular basis, hopefully she will be nice enough to add a price for it in the comments section (hint, hint).

This wasn’t the fanciest of dinners I’ve ever done but it was nice to sit around and casually enjoy some food and wine with some very good company.

Cheers!

Mark

Saturday Night – Happy Birthday Jan! – Part 4

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Jan brought a bottle of 2009 Reif Estates Vidal Ice-wine to go with dessert.  I made dessert which I haven’t named yet but it is made with the following – two plain digestive cookies with French Vanilla ice cream sandwiched between them, melted white chocolate over top and then fresh raspberries and then topped with a raspberry coulis. 

The nose the on the Reif was milder than I would have expected from an Ice Wine but it had lovely peach, lychee, petrol and nectarine aromas to it.  Tasting the wine you get a caramel apple and butterscotch flavours which linger around for minutes after a sip.  The structure on this Ice-wine was stunning as the racy acidity really helped balance out the sweetness of the wine.  This is a very well-crafted Ice-wine and you could lay this wine down for 20 years and it would still be amazing.  It also was a great pairing with the dessert.

Here is the group rating for the wine -Mick – 89, Mark – 91, Kathy – 91, Amy – 91, Overall – 90.5.

Here is the LCBO information for the wine –

REIF VIDAL ICEWINE 2009

VINTAGES 544791
200 mL bottle
Price: $ 24.95
This is a VQA wine
Made in: Ontario, Canada
By: Reif Winery Inc.
Release Date: N/A
Wine, Icewine
10.0% Alcohol/Vol.
Sugar Content: 227 g/L
Sweetness Descriptor: S - Sweet

The dessert went over very well, I’m pretty sure my wife licked her plate by how clean it was.

It was a great night (though I am feeling all that wine today) and thanks to Mick for all his help with the meals and to Jan and Chris for the amazing Ice-wine.  Happy Birthday Jan!

Cheers!

Mark

Saturday Night – Six for dinner

This past Saturday we were joined by Alex and Zdenka for dinner along with Mick and Amy.  This blog is just a quick overview of the night with no reviews as most of the wines we have reviewed before. 

Mick and I split the cooking duties for the night and Alex and Zdenka took care of dessert.

Here is the menu for the night –

Barbequed Brie with a Bruschetta topping paired with a 2010 Graham Beck Sauvignon Blanc

Carrot Soup with Fire-Roasted Chilies paired with a 2005 Rosenblum Zinfandel

Almond encrusted Goat Cheese on a bed of mixed greens with a Raspberry Poppy seed dressing paired with a 2005 Wegeler Kabinett Riesling

Marmalade and Dijon Grilled Chicken Wings with a side of homemade Blue Cheese dressing and carrot and celery for dipping paired with 2010 Seghesio Zinfandel

Chocolate Cake paired with a 2008 Cattail Creek Select Late Harvest Merlot

The evening was a ton of fun and we got through a lot of wine hence the lack of reviews as the some of the evening was a bit fuzzy. 

Cheers!

Mark