essex wine report

I am sorry that I have not posted lately, but I have been pondering a major issue to myself and am having a rather tough time getting my thoughts out.

What I mean is: do I have it all wrong?? Am I to drink wine in a singular activity and avoid any other stimulus or am I right to say that all the sensory inputs affect how we enjoy a wine.

I’ve discussed this at length lately with a winemaker and an associate whose wisdom I respect. I like to compare wine with music. What is your favorite musical experience???  Was it a sterile singular experience, or one where the music was shared with friends and other people? Great music to me has always included other people.  A great band in a smokey bar with a bunch of friends, maybe??? Having Carol Pope tower behind you at the Horseshoe (yes a brush with stardom) listening to Jack DeKeyser is a cool memory. Or John Lee Hooker in a club that used to be a supermarket which just boogied with the music.

As one who really was into stereo equipment, I knew people who only listened alone in the dark. I always found something rather odd about that. Were they listening to their equipment or the music?? I like old bebop jazz so I can’t have perfect recordings, but I strive for a ‘joie de vive’ that a ‘perfect’ modern recordings just don’t have.

The same is for wine. I have had the opportunity to sample some wines that are ‘above my pay grade’ lately and it confuses me. In a sterile environment these wines are technically very good, but this is reminiscent to sitting in the dark listening to music. My best wine memories involve other people. Sitting around the table with a beaker of Chardonnay from the vat was a good one. Carolyn laughing up a storm when she was over for dinner last time, or the fun of opening up one of my stored Nebbiola’s for Terry, Tom and Carolyn later that night. That wine to me was great and was to everyone there too. I bet it would be good in a test but what’s the point?? 

We all enjoyed the wine and it was made better by having people I care for around me. Tom, Carolyn and Terry (the yute had crashed by then). Why would I want to have one of Mr. Parker’s 100’s alone in the dark when I can have a local wine (ok Niagara) with friends. 

So does critical tasting matter??? I really don’t know. Wine is personal. I like whites more than reds, other people I know only drink reds. I loath the Australian lack of soul and love local wine since I know who made it. I don’t need Opus 1 (though I’d love to try some..if I didn’t have to pay for it that is) and am happy (very happy lately) to mate wine made from people who know me when I enter their store and with fine local food. Add Terry, friends, music and I really, really am happy. 

Is that so wrong or did I just fail. 

I always like to drink proper French wine when I can. Terry is out...dinner with Myles...so I decided to grill some salmon, listen to some music and have a wee dram of wine.

Wine of choice is a beauty...a 2003 Gewurtztraminer but its Grand Cru Schoenenbourg. This my friends is a great bottle of wine. It’s from Huniwihr so it has a pedigree. Bloody hell it is a Grand Cru so it should be good.

My great grandfather was from Alsace, and I guess he was one step ahead of the Prussians during the Franco Prussian War. Off to Montreal then Toledo then to Windsor. My Grandmother..Maude Henrietta LaPlante..married one Orville Small. She was a firecracker who taught me alot about food, getting thru tough times and general stuff a Grandmother is for. Funny, she couldn’t cook but knew how to get fresh good produce. Going to the market with her was a trip.

Music is/was Alison Krause. One was her latest solo album and now is her album with Robert Plant (ex of Led Zepplin). Really good music. I usually cannot stand country but this stuff is really excellent.

Dinner was grilled salmon steaks with some grilled polenta with a mozzarella topping. All in all not bad.

The wine is wonderful. It takes me to a wonderful place. It makes me see visions of a young Sophia Loren stomping grapes in a classic vineyard. Ok off by miles, and a few countries, but the visual is great.

Visually, the wine is light gold, sparkly and just beautiful. Legs, this wine has legs like Condi Rice..just beautiful. The seem to go on forever.

The nose exudes a class sweetness, with all the tropical fruit you can handle. I get some petrol and wet stone. Wonderful, complex and just wow!!!!

The taste is out of this world. Round sweet and good. Though sweet, there is a nice balance of acid and a wee dollop of alcohol...13.5%..this is no lightweight. Ever once in a while I get the elusive petrol, but I think the exotic fruit and spice is much better.

With food this is a winner. Sweet with food...Yes sir!!! It has a great balance of acid and it managed to fight off and clear the salmon oil. It has unctuousness and just works so well with food. Man this is good!!!

This wine goes with my idea that the French still make the best wine in the world and if they avoid the fruit forward onslaught we will all have better lives.

I always enjoy tasting and reviewing a wine prior to the general public. So I have another. When Terry and I went to Muscedere’s open house a few weeks ago Rob told us about his new Chardonnay. We were waiting for some and since they ran out of bottled Pinot Noir(at the open house) we had a reason to go back.

While we bought a couple of bottles of Pinot (double gold last Thursday at the All Canadians….Congrats!!!!!). We were able to try some Chardonnay and here is the review of what we had. At the winery we had a sample right from the tank. Then we had some with some cheese and bread with the family. All I can say is that we were quite impressed.

Chardonnay is a classic French grape which hails from Burgundy (the Pinot Noir people). Now when the King banned Gamay a few centuries ago, he let Chardonnay stay which was a good thing. Poor Chardonnay has taken a few hits lately. Too much oak done by those ‘blokes’ from down-under and some just real bad product. Done well its very good but bad is bad. Those citrus notes get fugly.

So here we are at Muscedere. No hills like Burgundy, hot days, clay not gravel…..so what do we get????? Will STP get a new source for carb cleaner??? NO NO NO NO!!!! This stuff is great and I drank my only bottle. I am distressed.

We had it last night with dinner. I tried to make Gordon Ramsay’s lobster pasta. We didn’t feel like making fresh pasta (the yute was at band camp so no child labour to turn the pasta machine) so we chose a real good egg tagliatelle from Italy. The lobsters were canners...frozen...oh my god I can feel the yelling now...f********** frozen lobsters….are you f********* trying to f******** poison me!!!!!! Bloody Hell!!!!!!!! Are you just too f********* stupid or lazy to use f********** dried f************ pasta in my f*********** beautiful recipe!!!!! You should be f************ bloody happy that I let you read my f*********** book!!!!! Oh yes we are doing crab cakes tonight and OMG we have high end chilled canned claw meat….Don’t let Gordo know.

Anyhow it follows my mantra of simple but good ingredients. If I had the proper ingredients and a minimal skill level it would have been stunning. It was very mild and let the lobster thru. Classy, I guess thats why he has more Michelin Stars than Elizabeth Taylor had ex-husbands.

Music was none...oops….had Kitchen Nightmares on…..we really like that show.

Now to the wine……..It had a nice light shine and color. I don’t want to go too far there as the final product may be different...a little maybe...maybe a wee bit clearer. This wine has legs...good viscosity and just came down the glass so nicely.

The nose was strong but not overpowering. This one is unoaked so no beavers need apply. What we get is pineapple….lots of pineapple...I don’t like pineapple but I like the smell of it and green apples...Granny Smiths...fresh off the tree and papaya. Very classy nose. 

Now the taste….. I won’t tell you because I want it all. That’s it - - review done. Ok.. I’ll let you have some too. The taste is wonderful with good mouth feel. It is tangy with good acid content. It isn’t overbearing but will allow this wine to stand up well to food. In the French way, I think trout, lightly(I mean lightly) dusted in flour then pan fried in real butter then capers and white wine. It has the finish to cut through the butter.

Oopps, I must be hungry. I get loads of pineapple, green apple and papaya, just like the nose.  I like this and baby just look at the vines...they are still babies and man the will just keep getting better...I can’t wait.

This wine is more old school to me than other New World Chardonnays. It doesn’t have the mineral taste but the vines are young, but stylistically I think it is that way. It just tastes good to me. Nicely balanced crisp tasty this should be a real winner for them.

I just want some more. 

PS: Rob and Fab...get bottling this stuff soon!!!!!! I know you two are busy, but Terry and I will work for wine if you need bottling staff!!! This wine is too good to keep off the shelf. 

My garden is done..sort of. We actually found seed for Seneca Chief corn!!!!!!! For anyone younger than 30 this was the most magnificent corn and was a joy of my childhood. I remember my grandmother arguing with farmers that they were selling Seneca Star rather than Seneca Chief (wonder where I got my hard head from). This corn was great. Modern corn is nothing compared and I remember the evil Green Giant pushing this gem aside for the “corporate” corn…...why can’t we have a ‘Mondo Corno” to rival ‘Mondo Vino” as the documentary of the century to show how corporatism ruins good food (Mondo Vino is a great documentary on how the proper wine industry is being ruined by globalization, with the Mondavi group, Michel Roland and Robert Parker as the villains. I agree with Parker and Roland, but the Mondavi’s still make some great wine. Roland is a consultant who globalizes his taste and Parker is the reviewer for Wine Spectator, He likes new world style and now consultants will devise a wine to get a Parker score...evil stuff as some wineries make wine for him and abandon making real wine). Well for Seneca Chief.... it will be reborn!!!! 

Basil (4 types), thyme (2 types), tarragon, rosemary, dill, mint, oregano and tomatoes(San Marzano, romas, jet, and heirloom)..Oh I am so happy. We are also trying artichokes too!!

This is what I mean. Wine solo is ok, but wine with real food, friends and music is where its at. I remember Mario Batali talking about this and it is so bloody nice. I guess we will eat well this summer and it will make the wine better.

Meritage is the North American equivalence to the Bordeaux classic blends. It was created as a marketing ploy by the Americans so that they could market blends of grapes. All Meritages must contain the three noble Bordeaux grapes: Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. In Bordeaux, these grapes are mixed in various proportions, but the Meritage label implies that all three are there. It’s a marketing ploy so a Meritage label is not necessarily a sign of quality. VQA has licensed this label so there.

Our four combatants were: #1 Sanson Estates Barncat 2004

#2 Pelee Island Meritage 2003

#3 Mastronardi Estates Meritage 2006

#4 Stoney Ridge Founders Reserve Meritage 2003

#1 Sanson: chosen because I really like this wine and wanted a representative from the Harrow/MacGregor area. This wine is great. Balanced and skillful done.

#2 Pelee: this was the first wine that I enjoyed from this area. It was the start of my journey. I really thought this could be the winner

#3 Mastronardi: from the Ruthven area, Mastronardi has been producing some great wines. I was looking forward to this one and had real high hopes.

#4 Stoney Ridge: quite honestly, it was in my wine fridge and thats why I added it. I like Stoney Ridge wines, but Terry and I go there for the cheese shop more than the wines. This is a Reserve series and wasn’t that much (I think). 

Not included: Sprucewood Meritage: very different from a standard Meritage as it is lighter in body. It is still very good, but I felt that it would be too easily identified.

Smith and Wilson Double Barrel. Stylistically similar to Barncat and since I had one non Meritage it was excluded. More than four wines would have been difficult.

Methodology: all four combatants were aligned on the top shelf of my wine fridge the day previous so temperature should have been the same. Cool, cellar temp but not cold nor room temp.

Numbers were applied by Myles while we were in the dining room. Four carafes were numbered, again by Myles so that there was a totally random nature to the carafe/wine interface. All wine was aerated thru my WMF stainless steel aeration funnel. I realize that the carafe may affect the wine. I apologize as I do not have 4 identical carafes, but I tried to keep them similar. Glassware was Rosenthal diVino series. Nothing special but good quality.

The wine was presented and samples were taken at random. The first wine was given a rating of 100 and the subsequent wines were rated relative to this. I gave each wine a score based on each reviewers relative ranking. Therefore a rating of 4 would imply that that wine was rated first by all 4 reviewers. Like golf the lower the score the better. 

Tasting panel. Terry and I as usual. The guests were the suave and sophisticated ones. Both are excellent chefs with extensive wine tastings in Germany and here. Tom loves big reds and rieslings and Carolyn being a pastry chef has a good sense of taste.

When they arrived we had some Pinot Noir (Niagara Teaching College) and appetizers.

Music was fine and causal starting with Yael Naim (she does the Mac song) and then Robert Plant and Alison Krause. Good stuff.

RESULTS:

The results did truly confuse me. I miss-identified all the wines to what I thought the were. All were good and here are some comments.

#1 Sanson: mellow, hints of soil//wine has legs, very fresh fruity aroma, tannic, deep deep berries//dark red, medium body,light aroma//fresh nose, smooth!smooth!smooth!

#2 Pelee Island: mild, pucker power, nice body, acidic// wine has legs, very fresh,fruity aroma,very dry but nice, wee bit lighter than 1//dark red, light body, tangy//great nose, nice legs,very tannic, big and mouth, almost a bitter taste

#3 Mastronardi: citrus aroma, mild flavour, quite different//very dark neutral nose, very mild, not alot of flavour//light red, slight dryness, not much flavour, taste the dirt//beautiful nose!, awesome, so smooth!

#4 Stoney Ridge: full grape aroma, hints of red beet, pungent flavour//rich berry nose, deep red, great legs, very tannic,oak nice, deep dark fruit//mild flavour, fruity, full bodied, light, crystal sediment ( a good thing btw….my note)

RATINGS:

#1 Barncat   9

#2 Pelee Island   11

#3 Mastronardi   13

#4 Stone Ridge   6  WINNER!!

These results do confuse me. The women seem to taste different from the men. There is also a wide statistical variance that implies too much difference from first to fourth. Also the winner was not anticipated beforehand. 

Dinner afterward was roast duck with french beans cooked in duck fat, asparagus and a potato gratin. Carolyn brought an awesome cake for desert.

Now with the meal all the wines went well. Terry went for the Mastronardi while Tom and I attacked the Stoney Ridge. All worked well. So the tasting may have been immaterial. I am not sure. If the purpose was to rate a wine rather than enjoy wine there was clear winner, BUT all were enjoyable.

In the macro sense I don’t think there was a clear winner. I believe wine is a total experience, with food, music and friends. The lack of ‘control’ causes the ratings to be moot. I am confused right now but like the blind methodology.

All in all an interesting event and all had a good time. Isn’t that the point.

When it comes to restaurants, I prefer unpretentious, simple, independent ones. I love Italian food, but I have trouble wrapping my head around $20 pasta that I know has a food cost of $2. I realize that there are other costs, but sometimes I just have trouble (I am also quite cheap...thrifty sounds better). 

Last Thursday, we had some time so we went to Paula’s. This isn’t a pretentious place at all and quite frankly it could use a paint job and new furnishings, but it’s clean and has great food.

Paula’s is located right by the gate of Point Pelee. We enjoy going for a drive then stopping in for a bite. It has a nice deck which is great during the summer.

The menu is based around perch and pickerel and in my mind great. These should be the cornerstone of the local cuisine. Why do I want fish shipped in from outer mongolia when I can get fish which came off the boat this morning? 

We both had the “all you can eat pickerel” . These were treated like fish and chips, but the batter was wonderful. Light brown and light texture. It didn’t overpower the fish. The fish was done perfectly and from the colour of the fish one could see that the oil was fresh and the cook knew what he/she was doing.

We’ve eaten there several time and the food was always good. Yes, it has a salad bar...I hate them...but I’ll forgive that. Simple salad, some nice spicy potato salad and a good choice of dressings. There was a choice of sides to come with the pickerel and I chose the rice pilaf which was salty and I think was from a box. It wasn’t bad but the pickerel was the key. It was great!

The wine list is rather limited. I remember it having more local, but it had only Pelee white and a Piat D’or so oh well at least one local. We had a litre carafe for $24 so I can’t complain too much.

The service was exceptional as usual. If you want a stuffy professional server this isn’t the place. It offers more of the homey friendliness which makes you feel like our an old friend. Courteous, friendly, yet attentive. It fits the place. 

If you want good food, great service go to Paula’s. We paid a whopping $71 dollars for dinner and wine. That’s cheap for some of the best pickerel I have had.

SUMMARY

cleanliness: excellent

menu: fish based

portion size: ample

food: very good

service: very good

wine list: I wish it was better

value for money: very good

I am sorry that I have been tardy in posting but the week was a killer. 

Last weekend we went to the Gordon Ramsay book-signing in Burlington, only to find out it was a wristband only affair. I really wish Indigo would have posted that on their website. Oh well, we had gone to Niagara on the way so it wasn’t a total loss.

There will be many posts on our Niagara trip. Two restaurant reviews….I wish both were here...and many wine reviews. It seems really good up there and the wine, well lets say that it is very very good.

I am taking a break from prepping for tonight's Meritage derby. The suave and sophisticated one and I tweaked our methodology so it will be totally blind. The combatants are arranged side by side on the top shelf of my wine fridge and will be decanted and aerated by Myles, therefore we will not know what we are drinking. Only variable will be the carafes as I don’t have 5 the same.

I was speaking with Pete the Elder last evening. He was wondering why I always like the wine I review. He wasn’t aware that I buy all my wine for review, therefore, I buy what I like. That is why Baco Noir, Zwiegelt, Vidals et al seem to be missing. If I was given a bottle to review, and yes I have gotten 3 total, I will give an honest review and will say what I think. If I was to review, say Colio Bianco Secco that bad review would be forthcoming, but since I drive a diesel and no longer have a carburetor to clean, that wine will not grace my table.

There is my bad review.

I also am giving my best wishes to our soon to be departing friend, Pete the Younger aka Allan Park Pete. Seems he just wants to be a cowboy and looks to be heading for Calgary. Good luck and watch out for them thar cow-pies. I bet he’s got his hat already and the country music to boot. YEEEE-HAWWWW!!! I give him a month before he buys a big ol pick up truck with steer horns on the hood.