The Harvest Issue
Me, sipping some wine in Gros Morne National Park.
Dear subscribers, call it what you like: Sweater, Pumpkin Spice or Not-Bikini Season, the effect is the same. Fall just makes you wanna hunker down, get cozy, and eat richer foods.
Lucky for you, I've got just the wine(s) for that!
You might be surprised to learn I don't work for Closson Chase. But I do highly recommend pretty much each and every one of their wines. And, I've had the great pleasure of trying more than a few.
This 2017 JK Watson Pinot Gris is gripping with its ripe fruit flavours- yellow pear, honeydew, and peach. It also has notes of honey, beeswax, and spice that give it enough of a weighty feel to pair with warm weather dishes like pasta with kale pesto and oven-roasted butternut squash. The lip-puckering acidity will cut through the cream-base in dishes like flaky chicken pot pie, or this green bean casserole, YUM!
Those of you who follow me on Instagram may remember, I recommended this wine as a partner to Baja fish tacos earlier this summer. The same principles apply: you've got some citrus (lime squeezed on the taco) which complements the fruit flavours and the acid structure of the wine. And, you've got some fat (fried fish with a touch of Baja cream) which is in contrast and which the wine cuts through.
I say I love a lot of wines and that's the truth. But, I know I was truly impressed by something when I write notes to myself like, "Ash- remember, you really, really love this one." in my tasting book. And that's exactly what I did with this one. For $23 bucks it's a great bottle to take to a dinner party or open up on date night. It's not a bank-breaker but it feels like something a little more special than your everyday wine.
Sancerre Rouge is a red wine from the Loire Valley in France. It's made from Pinot Noir and unlike the white wine of Sancerre, which is Sauvignon Blanc, we don't see much of this on LCBO store shelves which is why I just had to squeeze this little dandy into the lineup.
Special not just for its rarity, this wine is stunning in its subtlety. Like its counterpart in white Sancerre, it doesn't overwhelm but rather, gently unfolds itself. For your interest's sake, in the wine community, the two classic styles of Sauvignon Blanc are considered to be 1.) the old world's white Sancerre and 2.) the new world's Marlborough, New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. The first is more delicate, restrained in flavour and aroma; the latter is wildly bombastic.
Back to our PN. In the glass, this 2015 Domaine Bonnard Sancerre Rouge is a shimmering pale ruby with burnt orange highlights. I get raspberry, rhubarb, black cherry and current on the nose. Again, none of the more powerful barnyard and damp leafy notes of new world PN but there are muted earthy and savoury notes to this wine such as mushroom, sage, thyme, and bell pepper.
I'd argue the tannin, acid, and the alcohol content is more than medium here, it verges on high. Pair this with a Sunday roast, mushroom risotto, or, for something on the lighter side, a kale and warm shiitake mushroom salad!
This is an excellent quality, very well balanced wine that would make a great gift. Which it was. Thanks very much to a dear friend. I really, really enjoyed this!
This is a truly spectacular wine. Like I said in the last issue, I'm an admitted sucker for Ontario Cab Franc and this is what really, really good OCF tastes like.
The 2016 South Bay Vineyards Cab Franc is what SWP readers will recognize as a varietal wine. This means that 100% of the wine in the bottle is made from Cabernet Franc grapes. You'll also know that these grapes were sourced exclusively from vineyard land in Prince Edward County, as noted by the words VQA PEC at the base of the label. Why do these distinctions matter? Let's start with the grape. Tasting varietal wine allows us to develop a basis for the aromas and flavours of a particular grape. Taste enough of them and you'll start to pick up on the commonalities or the typical or identifying characteristics. For instance, typical or identifying markers of a Cab Franc include raspberry, cherry, and bell pepper. And, for me, especially in OCF, tomato vine. This brings me to my next point. Once we have established a base profile for a certain grape then we can widdle it down even further to say, OCF, or PEC Cab Franc or - for the highly trained palate - to a single vineyard or winemaker, such as Huff Estates Cab Franc.
So why is this wine so spectacular? Let's begin with the gorgeous colour in the glass. This wine displays a brilliant, deep ruby that's hard to look away from. But, when you do, you're at once swept away by the complexity of its aroma: raspberry, blackberry, cherry, and the warmth of oak and spice notes like toasted oak, tobacco leaf and black and bell pepper. This wine is juicy, ripe, and structurally firm. There are wonderful herbaceous notes in this wine, sage, bay leaf, and this wine is no slouch either. With 13.5% a.b.v. it's a perfect companion for such hearty fall favourites as beef and barley stew and shepherd's pie. It would also do very nicely with a roasted vegetable manicotti with tomato and basil sauce.
This wine just begs for dinner guests. Next time you're having people over, remember this one!
