essex wine report

 

Merry Christmas to all!!

 

I figured that I may give you some ideas for the holidays. I am a reformed Christmas Hater. For years I just hated the holidays and needed a little help from Mr. Daniel's to face Christmas dinner. Needless to say I was a great person to be around but it was funny and gave the family things to talk about. Enter tso and the yute and things have gotten better, much better. Now, I'm regarded as the wine guy rather than that drunken idiot. Definitely a step up.

 

Anyway, let me share some sage advice:

 

a)         Don't waste your good stuff on Christmas dinner. Uncle Bob and aunt Martha probably drink Mad Dog 20/20 when nobody is looking. They don't know red from white and basically will think everything is too dry. So get something nice. Forget about matching food as nobody will notice. Trust me on this one. Rose, or Vinho Verde. Both are a wee bit foreign to uncle Bob but they both are fun and that's the idea. This is all doodoo if you have a family of wine snobs... but they will get it too.

 

b)         If you have a Single Malt person in your buying group DO NOT buy him/her any scotch that they don't already drink. The last thing I want is a $200 bottle of Highland Park ( I'd force myself to drink it though). Its good but its not my style. An expensive MacAllan would make me very happy. The Highland Park is very good but a wee bit rugged for my refined tasted. I prefer a sherried single to be specific. The Glen Breton from Cape Breton Island would be nice too. It's like real good Glenfiddich.

 

c)         Now with wine you can go wild. Wine drinkers are much more open. Try a Tokay from Hungary, Ice wine,  those funny sounding German late harvest wines with the noble rot, or a Barolo. They are all good.

 

d)         and finally avoid two things regarding the mashed potatoes. Simply do not, I repeat do not throw up or pass out into them. People just wouldn't understand or let you forget.

 

Well again have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!!

 

Will wonders ever cease??? Allan Park Pete actually dragged tso and I to the country as he wanted to get some wine. Wow, times have changed. So our travels took us to Sprucewood, Erie Shores and Muscedere. It was a great time had by all and I got some Christmas shopping done too.

 

I got some more Sprucewood Riesling as I thought it had promise, and tonight I am having some.

 

As usual the music. A Canadian gem, Oliver Jones: who was taught piano by one, Daisy Peterson, Oscar's sister who trained Oscar. If you like Oscar Peterson, you'll like Oliver Jones. The funny thing is that this man toiled on cruise ships for years and only got his due in the last 15-20 yrs. I kinda met him in Toronto and can vouch that his is a quality individual which is really nice these days. So buy some of his cd's (or vinyl which is better) to allow this man to retire as he's just worked too hard.

 

I made teriyaki chicken on the grill with some basmati rice with a tomato/green pepper salad with a Riesling vinegar and oil dressing. Fitting eh!!! Lets just say that it held up to the food nicely though I tended to hoover the food tonight but it did well.

 

Now back to the wine. A very pleasant aroma with citrus note. All what a Riesling is supposed to be. The color is a nice light gold with a nice clear look. This wine definitely smells and looks appealing.

 

The taste..... when I was there I was speaking to the patriarch of the family and the wine is what he described it as. Not too acidic but crisp with a wonderful fruity taste. It's not flabby at all (though I love Rieslings which flirt with disaster and just approach flabbiness). I really like this wine. To me I would describe it as the California school rather than Alsace, but a good California. By golly even  APP like this one and he ONLY likes Alsatians. That says something. Like any good Riesling, I taste the fruit and that in reality is what we should be tasting. Its really nice and all those great hints are there.

 

With food I see this going great with salmon. I bet it'll work well until things get either too spicy or oily/heavy sauced. It lacks that acidity to cut thru the gunk, but hey I don't like gunky food so this one is a keeper.

 

I really enjoy this one and would happily serve this one to my friends. Think Christmas dinner. This would be a good one with turkey or ham... yum yum.

 

Last weekend tso and I had some time and thought it would be nice to visit wine country. It was a nice day so off we went. The purpose was actually to go to View Pointe as last weekend we noticed that they had an open sign up.

 

Well, I have been eagerly awaiting the opening of this winery. I have heard everything from there are 23 wines available to all wine will be over $40 a bottle, to it'll never open.

All these rumors were wrong.

 

Lets start with the pricing. Relax; it is in line with the other wineries. Prices are all below $20 with most in the mid teens. Whoosh, that took a load off me as I find it hard to justify expensive wine when there are so many cost effective ones out there.

 

Varieties: there are quite a few but not as many as I had heard. It was rather adventurous to open with a lot of varieties, but what I tasted was quite good.

 

Like Sprucewood, I will review later but give impressions on what I had. Remember they aren't allowed to serve too many so I only tasted the ones that interested me most.

 

White Wines

 

Auxerrois--now nobody else makes this and it tasted rather nice. If one of my league of gentlemen colleagues hadn't waxed philosophically about drinking it with the winemaker at Chateau des Charmes years ago when it was still in a barn, I would have known nothing about it. It is slightly spicy and is really nice. It reminded me of Gewürztraminer in a way.

                        Bought some

 

Chardonnay-tso liked this on

 

Riesling - I had this one (gee who'd a thunk I'd have the Riesling) and it was ok. I really want to try this one again. I felt I had ‘missed' something when I tasted it

                        Bought some

 

Pinot Grigio - had this at the wine fest with La Cuisine's mussels and it was rather good. At that time I thought it was $25 - 30/bottle so I was harsh on it but its 15 so it's a good value for the money.

 

Red Wines

 

All the reds we tried had a wonderful nose. Not wimpy, not too strong, just right. Congratulations.

 

Cabernet Merlot-didn't try it

 

Cabernet Sauvignon - didn't try it

 

Cabernet Franc-huge nose for a Cab Franc. A lot of body too and I really liked this one. One of the best in the county.

                        Bought some

 

2002 Cabernet Franc - even better than the'04. it was much more refined, nicer nose and wonderful taste. This one was only available for tasting and that makes me sad. Will wait to get some when more is available.

 

2002 Pinot Noir-BRILLIANT!!! Was that woody, purply color and smelled wonderful. I cannot wait to open a bottle. Nuff said

                        Bought some.

 

Now the winery is very nice. The architecture is not at all what I expected and when it is 100% decorated I'll probably warm up to it more but again it is a really nice building. There is a huge demonstration kitchen with a beautiful view. The view, the view, its great from the retail store also. Had an eagle fly by too!!

 

I suspect that this will end up being the destination winery we really need down here to make this region go. They will be offering the extras that the city folk will need to come down from Toronto and it will be a great place for a reception.

 

All I can say it was worth the wait. Another excellent winery to raise the bar down here to higher level.

 

Well well well, here is a 2000. yes siree it's 6 years old. Now did I lose my mind and spend the big bucks??? Nope, this one was $5.95.

 

D'Angelo Estate, has been around for ever and I have enjoyed his library wines quite often, but this one is cheap and cheerful. It's advertised as a good pizza or pasta wine. I agree as I used it last year for a party, aerated it, and it was much enjoyed.

 

Baco-Foch says it all. It's a Baco Noir- Foch blend and I smell a lot of Baco and that is general not good for me. All the stuff that Baco lovers smell turns me off. Kinda musty, sharp and not my style. The color is a deep red, kinda purply and nice and clear.

 

Taste wise much improves. There is enough Foch to smooth it all out and as such it tastes way better than it smells. It is very Baco-y, so if you like Baco, I would save money and buy this one. I'm not a Baco fan so this one is basically there in the pack. Yeah, there are better ones, but they cost a lot more. Quite honestly, I have real issues with spending much money on a Baco as I can get a Cab Franc, or Pinot at just about the same price and can really enjoy them.

 

But seriously, I paid 6 bucks for this one. What can you really expect at this price point. Well actually a lot. This wine would be a perfect wine for pizza or pasta. A lot of tomato sauce would work with this and it could be quite enjoyable. At this price point I have had many wines from many parts of the world which are more suited to placement in my gas tank than my mouth but this wine does so much more than that.

 

I just had a sip of an aerated glass and wow did it change. No it hasn't transformed into a Napa, but that ugly smell is gone. Its still Baco, but a lot smoother. Taste wise, it has dramatically changed. It is much, much smoother and tastes soooo much better. Now I do not have a data bank on Baco's post aeration but this one is so much more drinkable. It's still a Baco, but one I can certainly deal with.

 

In the end it's a steal at the price Sal is selling it for.

 

I want to share with you three café's which I have been to lately and really enjoyed.

 

You have heard me wax poetically about Calabria, in Cottam. It's a family restaurant which features local products and wine, fabulous pizza, great perch and wonderful salads. Yes tso makes me eat salad and I really like Linda's. What is great there is the pizza. She uses herbs from her garden and local stuff so it's so different to the dreck that comes from the chains. It's very similar to the non-greasy Windsor pizza. Its wonderful  and I just don't order anything else. Tso loves the fish too. John and Linda are great people and it shows in the food.

 

Sam's Cantina, on Wyandotte, by the University is an icon. People talk about it in the old days, I have bought pizza from them for about 20yrs and endured years of "ok you want a large special, yes, name... small...so you want a small.......no a large special.. but you asked for a small". Now this would be ok when they got new staff, BUT this went on with the same guy for years. I really don't think he did it for fun... don't think he was at the U for a PhD. Well tso and I had our first date there so its rather special. What more can I say but simply the best pizza in the city, add great appetizers and cost effective drinks and you have a great night out.

 

A new one in the west end is Alcamo Caffe, on Tecumseh, near Partington. It's in a strip plaza but they have done a great job decorating it. The menu is a masterpiece. I have seen most of it on Mario Batali's shows. There is stuff I have never seen on a menu. The food is great and real. The small kitchen is exposed and you can watch them making the food so it ain't boil in a bag. Tso and I had lunch and thoroughly enjoyed it. They're coffee is great too. My only complaint is the wine list so have a mineral water with your meal and enjoy it cos it tastes really real therefore really good.