Tasting Notes - Sept. 24, 2009

It's a quiet Thursday evening. It's nice to have those once in a while. Now, if it were an exciting TV night, I wouldn't be typing this. I've tried some interesting wines this week. The following wines are from Ontario, except for the last, with it being from Spain.

Oak Heights 2007 Chardonnay $14.95
I've never heard of this winery before so I was curious. I was pleasantly surprised! The picture here is of the 2006 vintage. I tried the 2007. This is a small boutique winery called Oak Heights Estate Winery located in Northumberland County in Ontario (approx. 1 hour East of Toronto). This wine had subtle oak flavour and the fruit is actually sourced from the Niagara region. Interestingly enough, this winery uses Canadian oak only for their oak-aged wines. For the money, this is a nice wine.



Malivoire 2007 Gamay $17.95
I always enjoy the Gamay from Malivoire. The winemaker's name is Shiraz (yes, that's his real name). He's a nice guy (with good taste in music, well, likes my kind of music) and his wines are delicious. This Gamay won't disappoint. Serve it slightly chilled for maximum enjoyment. If I'm ever out on the town and see this wine on the menu, I order it.






Hidden Bench 2007 Chardonnay $35.20
A bit on the pricer side of the scale, this Chardonnay packs a big oak y punch. If you like your Chardonnays in a more California style, with big oak flavour, then you'll enjoy this wine.





Mas Estela Quindals 2005 $19.95
Sorry for the small picture! This is one of the "Wines of the Month" at the LCBO. It comes from the Empordà region of Spain. This wine is a blend of 90% Grenache (Garnacha in Spanish), 5% Syrah and 5% Carignan (Carinena in Spanish). Aged in French oak for a year, this wine has good fruit and body with spicy flavours. It says in the tasting notes that the wine will still open up for another 2-3 years and drink well into 2020! Now that $20 will go a long way.

I try not to get hung up on scores because what may be one person's 90, may be another person's 80. I find myself sometimes saying "Wow, 90+...should be great", only to be disapointed because my palate is different than the person who scored the wine. We can all agree upon which wines have fault or which wines may have more fruit or even perhaps complexity but when it comes to something you like or don't like - each person is different. Things would get pretty boring if we all loved and disliked the same wines. Before getting caught up in the hype, try one bottle and see if you like it. If you have the chance to try before you buy (for example, Summerhill LCBO Tasting Tour), even better. That's my little rant for the evening. Time for Seinfeld.

Back to Wine School!

Looking to take a small wine class that's informative and affordable? Check out the iYellow Wine School located at Reds Bistro & Wine Bar (77 Adelaide Street West) in downtown Toronto. I'm going to sign up for some classes myself because they look fun. The classes are taught by Taylor Thompson, one of Toronto's Top Sommeliers. They are about 1.5 hours and the topics are different each class. With our busy schedules, this kind of class structure works perfectly. Learning about wine should be a "hands on" experience don't you think? :)

http://iyellowwineschool.blogspot.com/

Tasting Notes - Sept. 20, 2009

So much for updating on a regular basis. Ok, this week I vow to update more!! I'm still having too much fun. :P I have some posts to upload of some fantastic things I've been doing lately (wine-related of course). I'm sitting at Starbucks in my home town as I write this, thinking about all the interest my family has in the future would-be squatters of my uterus. The thought of giving up wine for so long to have children makes me want to shed a tear. But I'm not there yet so let's begin.

Here are some wines that I've had recently and enjoyed:

Ferraton Père & Fils "La Matinière" Crozes-Hermitage Blanc 2007 $21.95
This wine is made from 100% Marsanne grapes. This wine is from the Northen part of the Rhone, in France. Crozes-Hermitage is a largest region in the Northern Rhone. Most of the wine in this region is red made from the Syrah grape. This is a white wine which is fruity with good minerality and stone fruit on the palate. Serve it just slightly chilled and you have yourself a nice sipper!

Babich Pinot Noir 2007 $19.95
Not my favourite Pinot Noir from New Zealand but this one was enjoyable and the price is good for the quality. This wine is from the Marlborough region of New Zealand which is located on the North-East part of the south island. This Pinot Noir is fruity with some lovely spice both on the nose and on the palate. I did enjoy this wine and isn't that the final verdict that we're all looking for?




If you're looking for a special bottle to pick up that's more on the expensive side (you deserve it right?) :

Delas Haute Pierre Chateauneuf-Du-Pape 2007 $35.95
Loved it. Loved it more and more as I continued to drink it. Of course, this is one of my favourite regions in the world for both beauty and wine production. This wine hails from the Southern Rhone region of France, in a town called Chateauneuf-Du-Pape. This wine is a blend of 70% Grenache and 30% Syrah. In the Southern Rhone, the wines are almost always blends. This wine is very smooth, with a wonderful aftertaste. The tannins are present but not over powering. There's delicious black fruit with licorice and spice on the palate. It's full bodied and jam-packed with flavour. 2007 was a great year because it was so hot. This wine will also keep for over a decade. I bought two bottles - both for me and I'm not sharing. :)

Ironstone Estate Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2006 $37.95
This is a typical good California Cabernet Sauvignon. Big, bold and beautiful. This Cab is full bodied with dark fruit, cassis and vanilla. It was smooth going down and left a really nice aftertaste. I did indeed help myself to more than one glass of this pleasant wine.

Tasting Notes - Sept. 4, 2009

I've promised myself that I'd make more of an effort to blog. To be honest, I've just been having too much fun to be thinking about writing! But now that summer is drawing to a close, it's time to be serious and focused - at least for an hour. I've decided to also include video blogs in the near future to accompany the written ones. I'll begin posting the videos once I learn to stand myself on camera. =)

Domaine Jean-Pierre Sève Terroir Pouilly-Fuissé 2007 $26.95
What is a Pouilly-Fuissé you may ask? It's a region in Burgundy, France. Specifically in the Mâconnais region. This is in the south of Burgundy. The main grape variety from this region is Chardonnay. This wine may be on the pricier side but worth it. It's delicate and fruity with great minerality and only the faintest touch of oak. You can enjoy this with roasted chicken, fish, quiche or goat cheese. If you cook for me, I'll bring this to the table myself. Don't confuse Pouilly-Fuissé with Pouilly-Fumé. Pouilly-Fumé is in the Loire region of France and it is a white wine made from the Sauvignon Blanc grape variety.

This producer has a website that's worth reading. The winemaking practices are explained in detail, with pictures to match.
http://www.domainejeanpierreseve.com

Tenuta S. Anna Cuvée Rosé Brut $15.95
This tasty rosé sparkling wine is from Italy. It's perfect as a summertime patio sipper or as an aperitif before dinner. It should get the party started. This wine is a blend (cuvée) of Pinot Noir (Pinot Nero in Italy) and Merlot. It's a pale pink colour (fromthe skins of the grapes) with aromas of strawberry, redcurrants and pear. I just love sparkling rosés. It's like an Italian festival in your glass, complete with the kissing and "ciao-ing" (I don't think that's actually a word, but "ciao" is!). Don't expect anything complex like in a Champagne, but for the money, it's delicious. I'll do a full blog soon all about sparkling wines and the methods used to produce them. That should be a fun post!
http://www.tenutasantanna.it

Jackson-Triggs Proprietors' Grand Reserve Gewürztraminer 2007 $18.75
This wine has been the talk of the town. Everyone is raving about this Gewurztraminer. Pronounced Ge - vertz - tra - meener. This is an aromatic white wine and the grape variety thrives in the regions of Alsace, France and Germany. Here in Ontario, we have a pretty cool climate so this grape variety does well here. This wine would go well with chicken, fish or spicier dishes. It's off-dry, with some lychee, peach fruits and floral notes. I always like Gewürztraminer because it reminds me of lychee martinis. :) I met one of the winemakers of Jackson-Triggs of the Niagara location recently at a wine show. His name is Marco Piccoli and he was really fun to talk to. He's from Italy. Viva Italia!
http://jacksontriggs.com/

That's if for now! Check out the new Facebook fan page for The Yummy Grape.

Who wants to get Knotty!

Another great wine event is coming up brought to you by the Toronto-based iYellow Wine Club.

Are you ready to get Knotty?!
I know I am!

This event is ThursdaySseptember 10th, 2009 at the Thrush Holmes Empire gallery on Queen St. West.

The winemaker will also be at the event and as usual, lots of great wine and music to shake your money-shaker to.

www.iyellowwineclub.com

See you there!