essex wine report

Sorry, I just love that line when Ricky came home...I know it’s Lucy, I’m home, but work with me here... Muscedere had their Grand Re-Opening yesterday and it was a great event.

Terry and I went after she did a photo-shoot in Riverside. We took the Drive back west ( we were on schedule) and it was such a nice ride. Well, we needed some nibblies so the dh it was. OK, we were now late, but we took the drive all the way to Alma in Amherstburg anyway. Hey, it was a beautiful day.

We finally got to Muscedere about 3 p.m.. Their lot was full….. that was a good sign... Oi, just imagine a hundred people in their wine room….. Good thing they had a tent and some musicians and a lot of chairs. Good stuff.

So the new wine. 

By memory: Pinot Noir, Cabernet Franc, Rose, Riesling, Pinot Grigio, and Sauvignon Blanc. Oh yes, and 3 Ice Wines. To come is a Chardonnay and a Meritage.

My thoughts from tasting:

Pinot Noir: deep scarlet red, clear with some body….they ran out of stock, but there is some more. A keeper. I will get some and do a review. 

Cabernet Franc: I think that this wine is way better than last year’s which was really good. This may be their best red yet. None of the weird cab franc notes, just really good flavour.

Rose: this will be a great summer wine. It is a Provence style rose and that’s a good thing. Different in style from Erie Shore’s Summer Sun, so I think there is a Rose-off set for the future. It’s a really nice wine.

Riesling: the question is--- is it as good as their first one...the one that I felt was hands down the area’s best wine? We shall see, but the sample I had was wonderful. I smelled all the right things and it had mouthfeel and taste. A review will follow.

Pinot Grigio: crisp, dry, very nice. This is a good one and a keeper.

Sauvignon Blanc: THIS WINE IS AMAZING!!!! It has everthing I love in a Sauv Blanc…..taste, body, fruit, grass( a wee bit only) Its more like a French style than a New Zealand. Good with food (we had it) and just there. It’s huge for a Sauvignon Blanc but we found it to be wonderful.

We had a sample of the Chardonnay and this one will be great. Again more to a French Style, no oak and just loads of pineapple. Yup, pineapple and just wonderful mouth feel. This one will be worth waiting for.

Just like at Calabria we closed the place with the owner’s. It is getting to be a habit, but it’s fun. This is a classic winery. Kids playing, father, mother, sons, sisters, wives, friends etc….this to me is what a winery should be….kinda like in the old country…..oops, no wineries in Scotland, so we change my name to Piccolo, so now the old country is La Marche….. Add a twenty-ish Sophia Loren stomping the grapes and life could be very good indeed.  

I am sorry that I haven’t been posting as much as I would like, but it has been a very busy month. But Saturday was a joy! Beautiful day and Vlad went to the puppy spa, Terry was busy with taxes, Myles was at his dad’s so I had three hours to kill. Well the puppy spa was off Walker so I headed south. Why yes, aren’t there wineries just off of Walker???

First stop was  View Pointe. Always good stuff and the Pinot Noir was still on sale. I suggest getting some as it is a steal at $15. Good stuff and I will do a review soon. New offerings are on their way but snag some Pinot…..if only they would get a sign.

Next stop was CREW and they too are about to release BUT the are blowing out their Gewurtz so get some before its gone. Its really good.

Same story at Erie Shores, but they are so nice to visit with and of course Liz wanted some Stellar Secret and Summer Sun so I got some for her...Liz come get it. 

Now to Sanson. New stuff soon to be out but the have Berkshire pork and some of their own cattle. I have had the meat and its wonderful…..way too good for tacos, but made an awesome Bolognese. They will have heirloom vegetables too!!!! Now this is great...get some wonderful meat some wine (they make great wine) veg et voila le diner. What more could you want. Good food, good wine...add friends and music and life is good.

Went by Muscedere and the are re-opening with their new releases on the 19^th …..no problems, except the ran out of wine after Christmas, which is a good thing. I am looking forward to their Pinot and Riesling. For larger tastes the Baco I’ve had was really good, and I don’t like Baco.

By now Mastronardi’s Gewurtz should be out and it’s wonderful, possibly better than last years, which is a big deal.

Aleksander has a new Cabernet and I got some today. Again more to come out.

And of course last but not least is Sprucewood who released their Meritage about a month ago and should to have releases soon.

This time of year is exiting as the new releases are almost there so visits are fun and different.

Well happy tippling.

Enjoy!!

It’s officially warm again!!! Terry and I had the official spring starter…..Summer Sun on the patio. Yes good times rolled again.

I find this wine is just so right for my palate. Its happy, light and fruity. That was my last bottle so I need to go pay Harvey and Alma a visit.

Now, don’t look down your nose at Rose. Its not a 'great wine', but it is fun and just wonderful to have on the deck. After a long search we just fell in love with this wine. To me it means summer is coming.

Now is it that good?? After it we had a bottle of Argentinean Sangiovese Rose. It came from Opimium so its not readily available. This is a good thing. It had an odd colour and taste. It wasn’t pink it was almost crimson and it tasted like brandy. Not good at all.

Sunday was nice too and as we had a snack on the deck so we opened some Stellar Secret. This is the other Rose from Erie Shores and it is a nice foil to Summer Sun. I still like Summer Sun more but this is good to. It exudes fun.

Aroma…..who cares…..body….nice and light. OK there’s the review.  Go get some and enjoy!!!

I just can’t stop babbling about the Essex County meal and my obsession with finding local meat.

A couple of weeks ago we ran into the Ewe Dale man at Calabria in Cottam. For some reason he had lamb…….he supplies the lamb to Calabria and I guess its good that he likes his product. I don’t think he really liked my joke about steroids and antibiotics….he knew I was just being sarcastic. He did tell us where the farm was and where to get it.

So Saturday I really wanted to barbeque so we went to Schwab’s in LaSalle. Lo and behold, there was Ewe Dale lamb, so we bought a leg to turn on the barbi and a couple of slabs of ribs (local) for Sunday.

Just some garlic spears, rosemary salt pepper and olive oil. We turned it for 2 hrs and hoovered it. It was just so nice, so much better than New Zealand lamb and better than Alberta. Hey, its close was raised with some love. Not exactly cheap but worth every penny. If you like lamb get some.

 Wine with dinner was a 2004 Liberty School Syrah from Paso Robles. Yes the setting for Sideways… I hated both characters and was happy when Sandra Oh beat that tird with her helmet, Well it was wonderful, full and tannic. It just went so well with the lamb...maybe those Aussies are on to something.

After that we opened an 06 Aleksander Shiraz. These wines were as different as night and day. The Aleksander was lighter and fresher and not tannic like the other. We both really liked it But would it have been better with the lamb...maybe not but it was so good.

Now, here is m rant. Find a butcher and bug him/her. Get them to buy locally produced meat and produce and DISPLAY the fact proudly. Hell, if Mark hadn’t told us where all the meat was from I would assume it came in vacuum bags. Hell, he even butchers the meat too!! So find a butcher and bug em...you pay for the privilege.

The new Paesano’s gets it. They proudly display where the meat came from...most is local so that is good. I’m glad to see them back as I liked the old store and the new one is much better…...I am happy and I like the signs….guess I don’t have to bug them too much.

So bag the 100 mile meal and have the Essex County meal....it can be done.