I needed a space on my site to present thought on my journey for wine and spirit appreciation. I am not an expert, these are simply my opinions as I educate myself and try new things. The wine I talk about on here will likely be 99% local, as we live in one of the richest wine producing regions in the world, and after all I am about supporting all that is local.
The holidays are fast approaching, and it is tine to get those survival kits ready for those last minute and unannounced guests that will inevitably drop in for a drink and a snack, or perhaps an impromptu party on a cold and snowy eve. Are you prepared, do you have enough wine so you don’t have to endure last minute LCBO lineups? You might be too late, but I am going to share some of my choices for affordable whites under $20 with you, anyway. Ontario makes stellar white wines, so get out there and support local industry, and get a buzz while you are at it!
The holidays are fast approaching, and it is tine to get those survival kits ready for those last minute and unannounced guests that will inevitably drop in for a drink and a snack, or perhaps an impromptu party on a cold and snowy eve. Are you prepared, do you have enough wine so you don’t have to endure last minute LCBO lineups? This issue of my Holiday Survival Guide is your guide to VQA Reds that will work in any given situation, and are just good to have around. Ontario makes some great wine, and when it comes to red you cant go wrong with a blend, some of which I have listed below along side their single varietal brothers and sisters. All of my choices are under $20, and are ranked in no particular order. Enjoy!
The holidays are fast approaching, and it is tine to get those survival kits ready for those last minute and unannounced guests that will inevitably drop in for a drink and a snack, or perhaps an impromptu party on a cold and snowy eve. Also, it is gift-giving season, and there are lots of great ideas out there of what to buy, and my preference always leans to food and drink so here are a bunch of suggestions. Firstly, The Holiday Survival Guide Beer Edition: This was the summer that I decided to get into beer, and I did in a big way. Here are some of my favourites that I discovered recently, and that I keep around for when I have the urge to have a nice ice-cold beer. There are some great choices here for the season including Winter Beard, which is a really nice dessert beer that you can share with a few lucky friends.
I always say that it is important to have ways to compare and expand knowledge in the world of food and wine. Being that well over 90% of what I drink is produced in Ontario, and is VQA, I welcome opportunities to drink internationally produced wines, if no other reason than to have standards by which to compare and contrast what we produce in Ontario.
I was invited to a lunch tasting at The Pantages Hotel with our good friend Alexa, and we were given the opportunity to try some stunning wines produced in the Rhone Valley, of Southern France. The Rhone is the second largest wine producing region in France, and they export wine to over 140 countries worldwide. With over 6000 wineries with a total of 76,330 hectares, that sold 399 million bottles between 2008-2009, this is quite an impressive area. They have been producing wine in the Rhone since the Greeks and Etruscans planted vines here in 700 BCE.
The 2010 vintage for the Rhone was an interesting one, and the producers feel the quality of the reds is very high. The colours are deep and dense, with a high skin to juice ratio, the wines are very aromatic, clean and complex. Some of the wines we tasted were good now and will be better with some age, and some could use to sit for a while to mature. From a pricing perspective, the Rhone wines are affordable at the entry level. But for those who like to spend a little more there is definitely some quality there.
It has been a wonderful and hot summer here in Toronto, and what do we do when it is hot? We drink! On Patios! Here are some great summer cocktails that I have been enjoying recently.
Limonata
Crushed ice
2 ounces limoncello
1 ounce vodka
2 ounces soda water
2 medium mint leaves, torn in half
- be sure to really crush your ice, or this will not be as enjoyable
- fill a cocktail shaker with crushed ice and add the limoncello and vodka. Shake very well, to combine
- pour into cocktail glasses and add the soda water and stir to mix through
- top with the torn mint leaves
- imbibe
Havana Club Mojito
1 spoonfull of sugar
Juice of half a lime
Fresh mint
50 ml. Havana Club Anejo 3 Anos
Sparkling water
- in a tall glass crush some mint
- add the lime juice and sugar, rum, and 2-3 ice cubes
- top with sparkling, stir, garnish with mint leaves
Vanilla Grapefruit Mojito
1 part Vanilla simple syrup – I used some vanilla sugar for my simple syrup, but alternately you could add a vanilla pod or some extract while making the syrup
2-3 parts Grapefruit Perrier
2 parts Mint infused rum – fill a jar with your favourite mint and rum and let it sit for 2-4 weeks
Riddled Mangosteen (Created by Suresh Doss, and slightly modified by me)
3 parts VQA sparkling wine
1 part Xango mangosteen juice (Can order by dialing toll-free: 1.888.311.0014) or you can make your own juice, they sell mangosteen in Chinatown
I have many early memories of the golden liquid made from barley; be it my first legal drink on the Hyatt roof with a cousin, buying from the local LCBO when it was still a warehouse-style setup, or being given a little taste of Crown Royal from dad when feeling under the weather. I discussed these memories, and learned about a new friend recently at One Restaurant at the Hazelton Hotel. Dr. Sam Simmons is the global voice behind The Balvenie, and is preaching the merits of this storied house of Scotch Whisky.
While I am a staunch supporter of all things local, sometimes I step outside my box. Once in a while there are opportunities dropped in our laps in our own backyards to experience what is great about another region of the world, and as lovers of food and wine it is important to get out in our own city and experience these international tastes. Especially if it involves drinking wines from a region like Rioja in Spain, and one of the top Catalan chefs who trained at the world famous el Bulli.
In the skys over Toronto, what is that? A bird? A plane? No, it was celebrities stomping grapes at the top of the CN Tower. The recent launch of the LCBO Go Local campaign took place just above the observation deck of the icon on the Toronto Waterfront. A well attended event by local media, the LCBO brought out some great local wineries, and Toronto celebs, comedian Colin Mocharie and his partner in stomping, actress Debra McGrath, competing against HGTV design personalities Colin McAllister and Justin Ryan.
Cognac is not usually one of the liquids that I imbibe on a regular basis, but I have been known to throw things like cherries in a jar with some. That, is good stuff. The opportunity to learn about cognac, and spend an evening pretending to be a mixologist was a welcomed opportinity. Thanks to the good folks at Matchstick, who had invited me to the wonderful Macallan experience earlier this year, I was heading down to the Roof Salon at the Park Hyatt this past Tuesday to see what Courvoisier Exclusif was all about. Matchstick puts on great events, so I was looking forward to this one.
