essex wine report

Well I finally got here. I've tried several times and every time they have been closed.

As everyone should know, Colchester Ridge  is in Colchester: duhhhh. Well they are right by Viewpoint and down the road from Erie Shores. This area must have something as by next year there will be 4 wineries in the area with Colio and Muscadere in the general vicinity therefore the highest concentration in the county.

Anyhow that's great for someone like me who must have been a forager in a previous life. I just can see myself roaming the highlands, frollicking in the heather while I looked for truffles. That was probably fruitless and stupid which then would have resulted in finding the local still, drinking whisky, stealing cattle (an honorable job in the highlands by the way) and playing the bagpipes.

Well anyway, the produce down there is outstanding. As peaches and apples are great farther east the green stuff is excellent down there. I always enjoy a good tour down that way. Harrow is starting to grow on me. That my friends is very scary. When I lived in Toronto I had a belief that if the subway didn't go there neither did I. It worked for me as I could walk to Kensington Market, and even to the Duke of Kent if I felt ambitious or I could take TTC. Here I have issues with crossing Walker Road. Why go east when the west side has everything I need. Now going out into the country causes me to  cross Walker Road maybe several times so it causes me great angst. Well I saw canoe in a dollar store down there so I feel much much better.

OI, where am I going with this??? I have no idea. So I just poured myself another glass of wine ( Pinot Noir - the reserve from Pelee Island-quite good I like it a lot) and am getting back to work.

Well getting to the winery buildings is a beautiful ride. It's about ½ a mile through the vines and is really pretty. At the end of this drive is a group of buildings and a really cute retail store, inside the last one. It's right among the vines which I think is wonderful.

I was there during the Viewpoint event so the owners weren't there. A very pleasant young lady was manning the store and did a wonderful job. We felt very wanted and she was happy to show us their wine.

They are very new and have opted to be sparse with their offerings rather than making a multitude of mediocre wines. They have opted for only 3 wines: gewürztraminer, chardonnay and a cab/merlot blend.  Lets see what I thought of them.

Gewürztraminer: any reader knows that I love these wines and they rate right up there with a good Riesling to me. I define 2 basic styles to me: Alsatian and California. The Alsatian is round and generally VERY peppery. California's are like Cali, mellow smooth with just a hint of spice. This is similar to the Fume situation. Thier's is California in style. Tso loved it and I liked it a lot. It was smooth, slightly spicy and basically there. APP didn't care for it as he has become an Alsatian snob. That's ok cos he got that from me. This is a really good wine that I would happily serve. Think Cali and that's this.

Chardonnay: this one is unoaked and fresh nice and I like it. I could drink this one. Again Cali like. I can really get into Chardonnay as long as the oak is kept away or used sparingly. Again crisp nice and not very heavy. A keeper.

Merlot/Cab: it was rather hot when I tried this but it was really nice. Fruity and just not lumpy. I didn't buy any as it was only about tem million degrees and I just couldn't do a red then. I'll be back so I'll get some in the fall.

Well its time to get back to wine.

Yesterday , tso and the yute accompanied me to the D'Angelo open house. Well they were unveiling their new wines and yes they were very good.

Basically they were showing their Cabernet, Foch, and Vidal.

Like usual they like to age their wine and this I concur with. Of course this is  easier when you've been around so long.

Cabernet-I really liked this. It was mellow tasty and just right. It was hot and I was still able to drink it comfortably. This 02 will certainly be one I'll be stocking up.

Foch-really good too but I liked the Cab a little better. It was mellower and more "ready to drink". Still this is a really nice wine.

Vidal- well I had none and will go by tso. She likes really dry wines, but liked this one a lot. It wasn't dry but  it was quite good. Another fine wine to sip by the fire ( if I had a fire place).

This years offering are better to me that the last. I was a bit disappointed that there was no Pinot. I have purchased some from the library stock and enjoyed them. This is a personal thing so don't take this as a complaint.

Well this has little to do with wine but everything. I just returned from the Willistead Concours d'Elegance and I have a few words for Mr. Bill Ford Jr. Nothing mean since I really care that your company does well again, so this is with love rather than vinegar.

Sir: I realize that your family firm is not doing too well right now. As I live in Windsor this has a major impact on my life. Let me remind you that other than my lawn ornament that masqueraded as a car, I now drive my first non Ford vehicle.

Please take all your designers and  lock them in the Henry Ford Museum: you know your grand dad's place and make them spend a  few days with the Lincoln  and Ford cars from the 30's. Let them see what made the company great. Why?? Cos grand dad made some of the best cars on earth and face your current crew makes some nasty vehicles. Let them see the beauty, the lines, the basic joi de vie.  Make them realize that the original Zephyr was stunning and state of the art. I was amazed at the beauty of Henry's creations. Other than the Auburns they were just soo right so beautiful and the nicest of their era. Leave them there for a day or two, then give em a lunch and take them to Willow Run and explain to them how your grandfather  built the Liberator plant in 18 months and basically saved our collective butt in WW2. If they haven't got any fire by then, give them a road map and a pat on the back. Those left, load on a bus and take them to Auburn Indiana to see Auburns and Cords at their museum. Let them get the drive and inspiration back.

Face it until the sixties, Detroit made the best cars in the world and Ford led the pack. The seventies went bad and the new cars, well they lack something. Force your staff to understand what your grand dad had, then come out and kick some foreign butt. We all know you can do it and basically we all are depending on it.

Regards

Jim

Well I guess I've went on this before but here goes. I really think its incumbent on the people in an individual area to try to support the local suppliers as much as possible. When it comes to food and wine, I think we should do it with zeal.

Under no pretence am I implying that I will not consume imported wine. this is extremely far from the truth. We just can't seem to grow a lot of grape varieties nor should we limit ourselves. Italian reds: these simply exist in their Italian-ness, they are what they are due to the nature of the Italian people interacting with their environment. That is why a California sangiovese isn't a Tuscan no matter  how good it is.

What I am saying that local food , local wine make for better living. Do we make wine at a level of say, opus one?? Nope but our wines can be bought at an attainable price and are real world.

Well Saturday tso, they yute and I went out to the country and through our travel bought some tomatoes, basil plants (mine had gone yuckky) cukes, melon corn beans all on the cheap. On top of that we met a wonderful older lady at the fruit stand who was just so nice. Well what did it get me?? Grape tomatoes that we ate like candy. They still had dirt on them (we cleaned them off by the way). These were so different from the dreck one gets at the supermarket-they just tasted of tomato properness. Well we took the full size which were nowhere as good as the grapes and made a boccacinni, basil(purple from my garden) tomato salad. Well 2 of 3 ingredients were local and by the way - why ain't there no artisinal cheese makers in the county??????????? Olive oil- well good Spanish. But here we are this was good. I could have bought store basil (ok but too expensive) or the basil in a jar but this was soooo much better.

I mean we owe it to the farmers bakers et all to support them. If their quality isn't there yet they will improve if we push them a wee bit. Same with the wine. I served a fine red from Smith and Wilson with a roast we turned on the grill. It did a wonderful job and tasted great. And besides I think smith and Wilson could use the sale a lot more than Gallo. The money stayed local and will help keep our economy going.

Where are the heritage vegetables???? What does this have to do with wine??? everything I say.

If one looks to any of the wine regions in North America one always sees heritage veggies. Why?? Because good restaurants always go with wineries and doing food with local, fresh vegetables and produce is the way to do a "local cuisine". That movement comes really from France and Italy and makes real sense. The food and wine develop together over the years forming a symbiotic relationship. Think Tuscan wine and one doesn't think of foi gras, but make that a fine Bordeaux. Think Chianti and one thinks of pasta Bolognese.

Think Napa and that fresh new world style of fresh local  goodies comes to mind. A whole cuisine grew up out of that. Niagara- well it's the same story - the restaurants grew around the wine and now they have a style that is becoming their own.

Well here it hasn't happened yet. Have you seen heirloom tomatoes and other old style produce around. Well I haven't. I know we are too young a region but we have to change our ways. I'm hoping that Viewpoint will change things as it should bring the region to a new level. I can only hope. As it grows ,quality and heirloom veggies should follow. Face it food was better before factory farms. We used to know  and trusted who made our bread, grew our food and raised our meat. Well I'm third generation buying from "the chicken lady" as we affectionately referred to her. Her family cared that I enjoyed their product and always got me good stuff. Bakery - where have they gone?? Add to that a good butcher. My favorite moved his shop and I feel deprived but at least I can go to Giglio's for my pasta and real Italian goodies. But we can and will do better.

It's not my intention to slag off the local restaurants but I see the big guys are  doing their thing well but are not doing a "local'thing. Go anywhere and do you see local wines on the lists of the big guys. NOPE. The rotary club would rather support an unexceptional Australian winery than support local wineries at the lobsterfest. If I recall what they served correctly I could find at least 10 local wines that are better and cheaper. That sucks real bad and shouldn't happen. WE NEED TO HELP EACH OTHER. At least in the old days every hall served Colio. Haven't been to a wedding lately but I hope it hasn't changed.

One local restaurant is getting it. They are really trying to feature local wines and food stuffs. This is what we all should be doing. They buy local meat, produce. wine and grow their own herbs. Where may this be??? The sprawling metropolis of Cottam. It's a place called Calabria Pizzeria. Local food stuff isn't that hard but they are really trying to feature local produce and wines and guess what--- they didn't need Gordon Ramsey to tell them, they just get it. Windsor style pizza and is quite good(that is hard for a boy that grew up on the old Arcata, Capri and Sam's) and is at least at that level. Fish is awesome and home made ice cream. This is as far as I've gotten on the menu as I'm just too satisfied. They just have fun doing it and that is obvious. It definitely isn't noi but its good food at good prices and its grown here. Add local wine et voila we got the leader of the grow it local movement. I bet that isn't their goal they just know it's the right way.

Kudus to john and Linda, may you start a trend.