This week on WG TV Erin shares hints and tips on how to build the perfect ice bucket for chilling wine.
Latest Reviews
Cusumano, Insolia, Sicily, Italy
Friday, March 5th, 2010Insolia is an indigenous grape variety from the Italian island of Sicily, and this wine is a delicious example of all the flavours this grape variety has to offer.
The first thing that you will notice when you open this wine is that it is sealed with a glass cork. If you haven’t run across one of these before all you have to do to open the wine is just use your thumbnail to lift up the cork from the bottle – it is that easy. Glass corks are an inert, airtight and fully recyclable closure so they are gaining the praise of wine makers around the globe.
In the glass this wine has a warm lemon colour and will greet you will aromas of tropical fruits on the nose such as mango, pineapple, and papaya mixed in with more subtle hints of peaches, warm lemon, thyme, and oranges.
On the palate all of the flavours that the nose alluded to will delight you as they are balanced with a medium acidity and fuller bodied mouth feel. This is one of those great wines that you can serve at a party and everyone will like it.
This wine is an excellent choice to pair with grilled scallops, halibut, grilled chicken, Mexican dishes, cheese plates, green salads, and pastas with seafood and olive oil based sauces.
This wine retails between $14.00 – 18.00 across the country
Pierre Sparr Cremant d’ Alsace
Thursday, February 25th, 2010I am always looking for a great bottle of bubbles and when that bottle also happens to be a very well priced one, than that is even better, so you will be happy to know that this weeks wine review fits into both of these categories.
The first thing you will notice when you pour a glass of this wine is it’s golden colour and lively bubbles and once you pick it up and smell it, you will be greeted with a wonderful nose filled with warm vanilla, butterscotch, ripe apples, pears, and a hint of lemon. On the palate this wine delivers all that it promised on the nose with each sip bringing all the rich flavours together mixed in with delightfully soft bubbles.
This wine is a fuller bodied style of sparkling wine and so it will pair wonderfully with heavier dishes such as, roast poultry dishes, eggs benedict, popcorn with butter, grilled cheese sandwiches and macaroni and cheese.
Retails between $22.00 – 28.00 across the country
Inniskillin 07, Riesling Icewine, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia
Thursday, February 18th, 2010With us all celebrating our athletes as they compete in the Vancouver 2010 Winter Games, I thought it would be fun to share a special wine that comes from British Columbia’s own Okanagan Valley.
The Inniskillin 07, Riesling Icewine is a beautiful example of why our Canadian icewines are prized by wine lovers all around the world.
This wine is filled with the aromas and flavours of peaches, apricots, honey, warm lemons, pink grapefruit, ripe apples and pears and has a wonderful balance between its sweet fruit flavours and its naturally high acidity, so you don’t have worry about it being too “gooey” or over the top sweet as you enjoying it while watching your favorite sport or medal ceremony.
I enjoy serving this wine at room temperature or just a bit below so that I can fully enjoy all of its aromatics at their best. Try this wine paired with peach or apple pie, cheese plates with dried fruit, pound cake with whipped cream, popcorn with dried apricots, or just in a glass on its own.
Retails between $59.00 and 79.00 across the country
Framboise, Bonny Doon Vineyards, California
Thursday, February 11th, 2010With Valentine’s Day being celebrated this weekend I thought it was only fitting to share with you one of my favorite wines to pair with chocolate, especially dark chocolate.
Framboise is a special wine that is made from ripe raspberries and then has had grape brandy added to its fruit wine base much like a port style of wine.
This wine is a deep garnet colour and tastes and smells just like sun ripened raspberries so it is sure to delight anyone who loves these tasty red berries. Medium in body this wine is a perfect sipping companion for when you are enjoying your favorite dark or milk chocolate dessert or just chocolate pieces.
For a special treat if you are an ice cream lover then I suggest you try this wine poured over top as a fabulous grownup sauce or if you are celebrating Valentines Day with breakfast in bed then this wine can also be served as a delightful waffle or pancake topping.
I enjoy this wine at room temperature but you might like to chill it just a touch before you enjoy it.
Retails across the country. 375ml bottle $40 – 60.00
(If you are unable to find this wine that I suggest you try a Late Harvest Zinfandel or Late Bottled Vintage Port style in its place.)
Pazzo, 2006, Bacio Divino Cellars, Napa Valley, CA
Friday, February 5th, 2010Pazzo means “crazy” in Italian and to some the blend of grapes in this wine may seem a bit crazy indeed, but this mix of Sangiovese with Cabernet Sauvignon and bits of Zinfandel, Viognier, and Merlot to me is crazy delicious.
This wine is a deep garnet colour and semi-opaque and on the nose you will be greeted with aromas of red and black cherries, black currants, blueberries, hints of leather and red plums. On the palate you will find the wine to be medium – full bodied with medium and well structured tannins and acidity that are balanced by all the ripe fruit flavours that it offered up on the nose.
I think you will find this wine to be very versatile and that it will easily pair with many different dishes but here are a few suggestions for you to enjoy it with: Pasta dishes with red meat sauces, pizza, pork roasts, grilled meats, stews and hard cheeses.
Duchesse de Bourgogne, Belgium Ale
Thursday, January 28th, 2010With winter not ready to give up its hold on us quite yet I thought that it would be fun to share another of my favorite beers that can be enjoyed during all four seasons.
The Duchesse de Bourgogne is a Belgium ale that has been aged in oak casks for 18 months before being bottled and sent out to be enjoyed. This beer is considered to be a Red Flemish Ale and these beers are usually aged in oak barrels yet have a strong fruit flavour to them just like this one does.
When you open up the bottle and pour the beer into your glass you will be greeted by a light coffee coloured beer that is filled with the aromas of cherries, fruit leather, chocolate and hints of soy sauce. On the palate this beer is not bitter but instead has a wonderful “tang” or sour flavour to it that is refreshing and offers you the flavours of coffee, chocolate, red cherries and the hints of soy sauce that it offered on the nose.
Try this beer with beef stews, roast beef sandwiches, cheese plates, onion soup and dark chocolate. I like to serve this beer just slightly chilled and enjoy its rich flavours at their fullest.
Efe, Monastrell, 2008, Bodegas Los Frailes,Valencia, Spain
Friday, January 22nd, 2010
This wine is made from 100% Monastrell which is a fabulous red grape that we call Mourvedre when it is made into wines in France. The wine is medium bodied and filled flavours of ripe blackberries, cherries, strawberries, and hints of sweet balsamic vinegar and sweet tobacco. It is delicious and very people friendly. It’s a fantastic example of the wine from the Valencia region.
Serve this wine with hard cheeses, stews, grilled red meats, pasta dishes with meat and tomato sauces, or this weeks Jambalaya recipe.
This wine retails for under $20
Innis & Gunn, Oak Aged Beer, Scotland
Friday, January 15th, 2010For this weeks review I thought it would be fun to share one of my favorite beers especially since it also happens to pair fabulously with this weeks recipe of Potato, Leek and Bacon Soup. Innis & Gunn is an ale that comes from Scotland and what makes it really unique is that it has been aged in barrels that were previously used in bourbon production.
This beer is a beautiful warm caramel colour and is filled with rich flavours of vanilla, toffee, hints of citrus and caramel. It is not your normal beer and I know you are going to love it when you try it. The beer is full bodied and delicious so this weekend I hope you have a chance to enjoy it with this weeks recipe.
Innis and Gunn retails for $4.50 – 5.50 per bottle around the country.
Pierre Sparr, Pinot Gris, Reserve, Alsace, France
Friday, January 8th, 2010With the new year underway and I am sure many people like myself back into a more healthy style of eating after the “extras” of the holidays so, I thought I would share with you of my favorite food friendly white wines.
This wine aromatic and smells delicious on the nose and the palate it delivers all of the flavours that the nose gives hints to by filling your glass with the flavours of peaches, apricots, ripe red apples, pears and hints warm lemons. This wine is a perfect pairing for this weeks warm spinach salad with bacon, as it is medium bodied so it holds up to all the flavours of the dish and the honey in the dressing helps to pull the sweet flavours of the soft peaches and apricots in the wine out to create a perfect food and wine experience between the two. Serve this wine with just a slight chill to it to experience the aromatics and flavours at its best.
This wine is also fabulous when paired with French onion soup, roast chicken, chicken stew, cheese and meat plates, pork roasts and bratwurst on a bun.
Different vintages of this wine will be available in different markets. This wine retails between $17.00 – 23.00 making it a terrific value!
Duvel – A Belgian Golden Ale
Friday, December 4th, 2009Duvel is a terrific addition to anyone’s bar. It is an upscale beer that will impress both wine and beer lovers.
Three fermentations give Duvel it’s complexity. Not overly malty, this beer offers subtle notes of both yeast and citrus. It has a pale golden hue, but shouldn’t be underestimated! This is a beer that is food friendly; yet can also be sipped and savoured.
With holiday entertaining approaching, this is a great selection to have in your fridge for those who prefer beer over wine.
