Tag Archives: Wine tasting

5 wines, 5 cheese pairings: Foodies meet. Part 2 of 2

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…Continued from here.

Course #4: Bring on the livestock. My least favourite course of all.
Alright, I can definitively say that I don’t like Malbec, until someone tells me that “this Malbec is different”. Regarding Legends Estates Malbec I wrote the words “smoke” and “tobacco” and, my favourite descriptor of the evening, “Like drinking a pipe”.

Malbec, meet “Clandestin” cheese, a sheep and cow milk cheese. The lady serving it called it her favourite but it was too pungent for me. You can find information about the cheese here and here. I noted that it tastes like an animal. When Sarah declared it to be “barnyardy”, I agreed. The flavour was musty. This cheese reminded me of the smell of rotting hay (some might say “herbal”), like waking through Riverdale Farm’s petting zoo. I might be the first person ever to say that the cheese tasted like a petting zoo. I didn’t like it. Sarah, however, proclaimed, “I like barnyardy cheeses” (one of my favourite quotes of the evening and immediately tweeted).

When at first I tasted the wine and cheese together they mellowed each other out, but then I found that I had two strong tastes in my mouth. I finished the wine, spit out the cheese.

So, a petting zoo-tasting cheese and a wine that tasted like pipe. The next and final course was like heaven in my mouth.

Final wine and cheese combination:  Baco Noir and cheddar

I don’t know if it’s because I disliked the previous course so emphatically or if it was just that good but I was pleased when we concluded with Sandbanks Winery Baco Noir (2007) and Jensen 2 year old cheddar. Who doesn’t like cheddar? The baco noir, from Prince Edward County, was light. I tasted orange and strawberry. I recall that baco noir is characteristically peppery but I didn’t overtly detect that. The high salt content of the cheese might have been responsible for making the wine taste a little bit sweeter but not cloyingly so.

Gamay revisited

Those of us who paid for the full experience then had a chance to revisit some of the five wines. I had another few glasses and noted a change in the taste of the Chateau des Charmes gamay. Whereas earlier I’d only noticed the predominantly cherry taste, my second experience resulted in a honey aroma and the taste of brown sugar. Someone pointed out a petrol smell, which I also caught a whiff of after it was pointed out (I think that wine tasting is in many ways psychological). I tasted more sweetness than previously and wondered if it was my perception of the wine that changed or if the flavour itself had changed as a result of the bottle being open longer.

It wasn’t all wine

Other happenings:

  • Author Kathryn Borel read from her soon-to-be-released book Corked: A Memoir. I can’t decide if I want to read the book or not. The content sounds interesting but at times the use of adjectives seemed contrived as if she was trying too hard to paint a picture. It was too adjective heavy for my taste. I commend her for writing the book.

Interestingly, yesterday’s National Post has an article titled “Eat some cheese: Canadians are much more than cheddar people”.

If you’re interested in future events like this and are on Twitter you can watch for the hashtag #foodiemeet. If you’re not, I’ll try to remember to post upcoming events here. Cafe Taste runs a number of events and are looking to fill a bus for a road trip to Prince Edward County on Labour Day weekend. Reserve your spot now and get information about other upcoming events at Cafe Taste at their website. If Jeremy’s on board you know it’ll be a good time and educational. He knows his stuff.

Update: Read Sarah’s review at Toronto Tasting Notes. We were hanging out at the event together so it’s interesting to see which opinions we share and where we differ.

5 wines, 5 cheese pairings: Foodies meet. Part 1 of 2

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Once again, Andrea Chiu (@TOfoodie) and Suresh Doss (@spotlightcity) organized a lovely evening where food and wine enthusiasts could come together to eat, drink and mingle.

Not one to reinvent the wheel, here’s the description of the event that Andrea posted to the Facebook event page, with minor changes to make it blog-friendly:

We had so much fun with our first #foodiemeet, we’re throwing another one!

This time, Parkdale’s own Cafe Taste will be hosting. Its resident wine geek and local wine expert, Jeremy Day, will lead us in a tutored wine tasting (with paired local cheeses) of some of what Niagara’s sub-appellations have to offer.

Author Kathryn Borel will also read from her upcoming wine memoir, Corked: A Memoir, an uncensored account of her father-daughter tour through the wine regions of France.

To accommodate everyone, we’ve set up a tiered ticket system of $45, $25 and $5:

A $45 ticket is the best value! You’ll get the full tutored-tasting of 5-7 wines plus paired local cheeses. Jeremy describes this as the “hedonistic tasting” with free-pours.

A $25 ticket gets you 2 oz. pours of all the wines being reviewed.

A $5 ticket is ideal for folks who can’t stay for the full tasting or prefer to choose their own wines, cheeses, and snacks.

*All attendees will receive a raffle ticket for prizes and of course, are welcome to order from the wine and food menu at any time.

I went with the “hedonistic” full tasting and it was fantastic.

Tweets from #foodiemeet last night, in revere chronological order:

“I like barnyardy cheeses.” @sarahbhood #foodiemeet about 13 hours ago from txt

Liking the “Red Conception” wine from Fielding Esates.#foodiemeet about 13 hours ago from txt

Won the first door prize, books, at #foodiemeet about 14 hours ago from txt

At #foodiemeet. The education has begun. about 15 hours ago from txt

(@sarahbhood is Toronto Tasting Notes._

The evening began thankfully NOT at the called time of 7pm but closer to 8. My tendency to be late aside, the writer’s block that I’d been experiencing cleared shortly before the time I intended to leave for the tasting. I felt no anxiety about being late though, knowing that that more than a few writers would be present and understanding of deadlines and writer’s block. I arrived to a sunny covered patio, name tags on which we were to name the most recent Ontario wine that we’d enjoyed, and baskets of bread placed throughout accompanied by dishes of olive oil and balsamic vinegar. I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that one of the breads, baked on site, was made with grape must, a by-product of the wine making process.

The wines and cheeses

First up: Gewürztraminer + Riopelle

Calamus Estate Winery Gewürztraminer (I didn’t note the year) with Riopelle cheese were up first. The cheese, unpasteurized and made from cow’s milk,  was buttery and soft, reminiscent of a brie. The wine, our only white of the evening, was easy drinking with slight complexity (who’s writing this?). I didn’t take notes about this wine but there’s a review of the 2007 Gewürztraminer at Ontario Wine Reviews.

Rather than take notes I was listened as Jeremy talked about environmentally friendly and sustainable practices, and organic certification in the wine industry. He mentioned Southbrook Vineyards, who earlier this year released the first biodynamic wine produced in Canada,  a 2008 Cabernet Rosé. I recently became enamored with Malivoire chardonnay, which was recommended to me by an LCBO employee who explained some basics of organic wineries to me including the fact that some wineries – such as Malivoire – engage in organic principles without being certified. Jeremy touched on this in his talk as well. Then again, as Daniel Speck of Henry of Pelham told Margaret Webb when she interviewed him for her book Apples To Oysters, “organic” is somewhat of a misnomer since it could be natural but still toxic (I’m paraphrasing).

Second course:   Gamay Noir Droit+Le douanier

Next up was Chateau des Charmes Gamay Noir  and Le Douanier cheese. The wine tasted of berries, especially cherries. It was bright (if that’s a suitable wine word) and jammy, but not like Port is jammy. The cheese was nutty, soft and sweet. Jeremy explained that there are two lines of this cheese.  One is made from milk collected in the morning, the other is made from milk collected in the evening. Morning milk contains more colostrum, the evening milk more minerality. Both the wine and cheese were yummy and the fat content of the cheese coated the tongue to add another level to the wine.

Third course: Fielding Estate Red Conception + Le  baluchon cheese

The Fielding Estates Red Conception is many reds in one. It’s made with so many varietals that Sarah and I were comparing our notes and asking Jeremy to repeat the list. I gave up trying to list them all because that’s what the internet is for: Looking these things up. Here’s what the winery’s website says:

Varietal Composition:

Pinot Noir 29% Syrah 6%
Cabernet Franc 25% Aglianico 4%
Cabernet Sauvignon 22% Sangiovese 4%
Merlot 8% Chardonnay 2%

See wine full description here. I can’t even spell many of those. My friend Jennifer declared this her favourite. I noted the words “oak” and “plum”.

The Le Baluchon cheese was soft, mild and buttery. Some, including Sue Riedl of the Globe and Mail, describe it as “barny”. For me, the barny cheese was the next one. In the interest of space and time, I’ll save that for part 2 and leave you with this: While describing this wine Jeremy spoke one of the best lines of the evening in reference to government rules and regulations,

…LCBO. Or, as we refer to them, the KGBO.

Stay tuned for part 2…

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Chenin lovin'

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Two weeks ago while Meghan and over 90 others were drinking nothing but blended fruit and vegetable drinks I was at the Hobbs and Co. Wine Merchants Inc. 3rd Annual Portfolio Tasting at the St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts, tasting wines and eating my weight in cheese and bread. It was a rainy evening that would have kept me indoors if it weren’t for the wine event and a magazine launch that followed it. My tour guide:  Kerri Henman. Kerri, you may remember, is the friend who told me about truffle salt. She used to work for Hobbs and occasionally works their tastings. The event was part of a day of wine education, that had, earlier in the day, included sommeliers and buyers.

It’s great to have friends with differing interests that help provide varied experiences and from whom I can learn.

We hit the event in two circuits: Whites, then reds. I won’t go through every wine we tasted but I will go through my tasting notes, scribbled inside the booklet provided to do so along with a list of wines and their description and prices.

Without even looking at my notes I can tell you this: The tasting event reminded me of how much I like chenin blanc. I believe it was Kerri who introduced me to chenin blanc.

First wine of the evening, on the white circuit: Quails’ Gate Winery Chenin Blanc (2008). I tasted citrus – lemon and lime – and pear. And the thing is, I really did taste those flavours. I turned to Kerri and enthused that I “got it” and didn’t feel like a poser.

First up on the red circuit: Quails’ Gate Old Vines Foch (2006). I wrote that it was sweet and jammy. I want to try it again to see how it compares to Port. I like Port. I put an asterisk next to it although now I don’t recall what that means. I think it means that I liked it, because check marks mean that I tried it but didn’t take notes.

Moving over to New Zealand: 2008 Tinpot Hut Sauvignon Blanc (link is PDF) from the region of Marlborough. The description says, “Lively and refreshing with  grassy, grapefruit and gooseberry aromas and flavours. Lovely minerality, richness and Sauvingnon pungency. A dry, silky palate and long finish.” I wrote, “smokey”, which makes me think that this is one I didn’t like. There was one that was very distinctive and really not my taste.

Going red in New Zealand: The sweet and fruity 2006 Takutai Pinot Noir. Say “Takutai” out loud. It’s fun. Your tongue tap dances between your teeth and the roof of your mouth.

Tried some Australians, didn’t take notes. There was the Chalker’s Crossing 2008 Semillion (2008 reserve is not listed on their website) and a Clairault Wines 2008 Sauvingnon Blanc.

Down to South Africa for another chenin blanc: 2008 Franschhoek Vineyards Chenin Blanc. I like South African things (their accents are cute and I’ve never met a Jew of South African decent who wasn’t a mench)  and I like chenin blanc. I therefore had high expectations. This one blew me away with flavours of butter and brown sugar. These flavours weren’t in the description but hey, that’s what I got from it.

Also from South Africa, the Juno Cape Maidens Chardonnay was subtle with a hint of sweetness.

Ich mag das essen, ich mag das wein. Ich mag das Leitz wine.
(I like food, I like wine. I like the Leitz wine.)
I remember no German from when I studied it in university, but anyway… The wine I refer to here is Leitz Riesling Kabinett and Leitz Rudesheimer Magdalenenkreuz Riesling Spatlese, both 2007. I’d link to the website but it’s all in German.

Regarding the Riesling Kabinett: It was a nice drinking experience. The wine feels bubbly but it’s not. It wants to be a sparkling wine but it’s not. It seems to pop in your mouth.  My notes say “stone fruit” “sweet” “Like bubbly but not” “Spicey”. Regarding the Riesling that’s too long to say: “Sweet” “dessert”. Bigger name, less of an impact. :)

Bienvenue! Time for a little French wine action. The 2006 Château Grand Moulin (French website) St. Jean tasted of strawberries. The Bioghetto RM13 Blanc 2007 was nice.  I tasted bananas.

Almost done, over to Italy to be served by a charming guy with an Australian accent (*swoon*): 2007 Cantine di Monteforte Ponte Pietra Merlot/Corvina and 2005 Alpha Zeta ‘A’ Amarone dellaValpolicella . Both reds. The first was handpicked by Jamie Oliver to be on his restaurant wine list but to me – Kerri too – it was the Amarone that really shined. By that point I’d had enough wine. I wasn’t going to bother with those last Italian wines. The I tried the Amarone, and then I needed to sample it again. I noticed cherry vanilla and fruit cake and overall yumminess. I noted cherry vanilla in the merlot too but it wasn’t as delicious as the way more expensive Amarone (not that I’m looking to buy).

What stands out from the evening? That last Amarone, the South African Chenin Blanc (Franschhoek Vineyards) and the Chenin Blanc from British Columbia (Quail’s Gate). Also, sharp cheese, a pecorino perhaps (I never identified it) and the creamy brie.

So that’s my overdue wine post.

Eat well, be well.

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