“For those who do not drink wine, may god take away their water.”

I have a story to tell you all about the power of yearning.  

It took place a few weeks ago.  My wine-eye must have been working overdrive this one particular day, because I kept coming across this one particular bottle- Charles Smith’s Kung Fu Girl Riesling.  I don’t know what it was that drew me to this one wine- the garishness of the bottle maybe? The fact that it must have been weekssince I had had a bottle of Washington State Riesling (my favourite region)…?  But no matter where I looked this one day, no matter what I read, I kept coming across this wine.  My Wine Spectator Daily Picks widget- Kung Fu Girl; Food and Wine Magazine- Charles Smith’s overtly hairy mug.  And to cap it off, Mr. Wine Spectator Himself comes home from Phoenix with it in his bag!  It was fate.  My subconscious must have been calling to it.  Kismet.  I was so excited I scooped it up and immediately hid it away in the bottom back of the fridge, where only Livy, Finny and I can bend down to see.  It just goes to show you, if you want something bad enough, you can get it.  

Well apparently fate and kismet are over rated, because it wasn’t until last night that I actually drank it.  I had hid it so well that in fact I actually forgot it was even there.  Mr. Wine Spectator Himself spotted it through the parting of the spinach leaves and extra large sized jar of grainy mustard.  “Hey! Let’s drink this tonight”, he shouted from his hands and knees. 

Whatever…I don’t even believe in kismet. 

  

Tasting Notes: Good balance between the minerality and the apricot honeysuckle sweetness.  It definitely had that acidic pungency I look for in Rieslings, yet it wasn’t overwhelming.  Classic example of a Washington State cooler climate Riesling.

“Success is a science; if you have the conditions, you get the result.”

 

Ten Easy Steps to Achieve a Brilliant Bubbly Tasting:

1. everyone bring bottle of yummy bubbly
2. make quick and easy, yet yummy, appies
3. drink yummy bubbly
4. eat yummy appies
5. drink yummy bubbly
6. make and eat yummy fondue
7. drink yummy bubbly
8. make and eat more yummy fondue
9. drink more yummy bubbly
10. eat dessert, also very yummy.

How to measure success: all wine consumed, no more food to be eaten, and happy glowing faces staring, googly eyed, down at their over extended bellies.

How to measure “going above and beyond” success: Multiple e-mails the next day inquiring as to when the next one will be! 

I don’t know what to tell you about first- the enthusiastic chatter of everyone enjoying each others company?  The stellar line-up of bubbly?  Or the Finny/Livy love-intervention?  First and foremost I have to send out a big hug thank you to The Brain and The Cheese Master (yet of course) for taking out the bank loan, going to Choux Choux and buying every slab of cheese they had to offer for sale.  Who knew they aged Gruyere in caves?!

Event Highlights:

The “Sparkling Wine Tasting Scorecard”

 Now, why these were not utilized by anyone else other than myself, I do not know.  With our next meeting, I think I may have to put my foot down and insist we implement a more “structured” system for tasting.  Paying more attention to writing down our thoughts an keeping track more diligently.  The Brain + The Cheese Master slaved over these for hours I’m sure- another big hug thank you for making the evening that much more enjoyable! 

For a fun addition to your next wine tasting, find these at: http://alwaysentertaining.wordpress.com/

The Line-Up:

The tasting went from left to right, starting with something I’d never had before- South African brut- and ending with the big guns- Henriot Rose.

 

 

 

Honorable Mentions:

Graham Beck Brut, n/v, Western Cape South Africa

The perfect pick for an inaugural wine at an inaugural meeting.  A lightly carbonated (with only slight ruminants of yeast) wine which is an easy sipper, I think I could drink this all summer-day long and be just fine, thank you.  Apparently, this just happens to be the wine Obama served (and drank, I presume) at his inauguration recently, paying homage to Nelson Mandela who served it to celebrate the end of apartide.  Rank: I would definitely drink this again.

Valdo Prosecco di Valdobbiadene, n/v, Veneto, Italy

Whereas prosecco is my standard go-to drink, this spumanti was a little sweeter than I tend to gravitate towards.  I got quite a bit of melon, peach and honeysuckle on the palette, with a quick finish to cap it off.  I think this wine is perfect for an afternoon aperitif while sitting on your backyard patio enjoying the sun and the company of your cat.  Rank: Good.

 

 

 

 

Chandon Blanc-de-Noirs, n/v, Napa Valley California

My selection of the evening and one of my fav’s.  I’ve been having a love affair with this wine for some time now, ever since my mom brought it home for a dinner party she was hosting, because she liked the bottle.   ”Isn’t it fabulous!”, 

well no, it isn’t fabulous, it’s weights a ton.  And for those of you who have also dropped it on your hardwood floors, only to find that it left a size able dent, will probably agree with me.  However, it is yummy.  So nutty and yeasty, I just want to crawl into bed with it and spoon Livy.  Following the methode champenoise to a tee, yet giving away it’s hot climate breeding

grounds.  Rank: Yum!

Henriot Rose Champagne, NV, Reims France

 

 The Clinch Hitter?

Tasting Notes:  Smells like my cat’s litter box. 

…couldn’t quite move past that, I have to say.

 

 There you have it- the wines, the highlights, the recipes.  The only thing that’s left to share with you is…

 

 

 

Be still my beating heart…

Adelsheim Pinot Noir 2006 Willamette Valley (375ml)

Wines like this one- why I love Oregon pinots.  Rich and juicy stewed cherries with good balance between the nose and palate.  Now I wouldn’t recommend this wine with the dinner I just had- BBQ szechwan pork loin with lemon garlic green beans- I would, however, suggest it with something equally as rich and dense as 70-80% coco chocolate…make that chocolate granache.

A Little Glass of Inspiration…

As the anticipation mounts for the inaugural La Cantina Sociale Extravaganza in a mere two days time, I thought I would provide for my fine readers a bit of inspiration, instruction and a good ole dose of sexual innuendo.

La Cantina Sociale members- I expect you to come to the meeting fully prepared to provide to us an insightful and accurate description of the wine with which we will be consuming.  “It’s pink, yay!” is not good enough James.  To help you with this I recommend the following instructional video:

You may find yourselves burdoned with a lack of proper descriptive words and terms, the following video provides some helpful suggestions.  Please, however, insure you adopt a snotty English accent and do not insist that you can “taste” the bubbles (…James):

The next video is for me.  Thank you Ms. Shira Lazar for not only pointing out the blatantly obvious, but doing it with that sexy bedroom voice I just know you’ve been practicing for years:

What can I say about our finale video- it’s just awesome:

I’d like to thank those fine folks at youtube.com for helping us pass 5.63 minutes of our day.

Call it Women’s Intuition

Only moments after announcing the first Cantina Sociale wine selection, did I receive in my inbox the Victoria Wine Society news letter updating me as to the next tasting.  And what do you suppose the theme is going to be?  If you think really hard, you’ll get it.  Well Champagne of course! 

I’ve been to only a few of the BC Wine Guys events, my favourite being the Best of BC (scheduled for November), and I have to say I always seem to enjoy myself.  This event provides ample opportunity to sample a selection of bubbles all at one time, if of course you’re incline to want to do such a thing, without having to spend a pretty bank roll.  I myself, am quite inclined. 

Here’s what you need to know:

Event: Champagne Tasting

Date: Sunday, July 12 at 3PM

Location: Brasserie L’ecole, Government St.

Price: $60 members & $70 non-members

The line up:

Mumm, Napa Valley $26.00 Reception

Montaudon Brut Champagne $49.99

Ca’ del Bosca, Franciacorta, Italy $54.00

Nicolas Feuillatte Brut Rose $69.99

Taittinger Prelude Grand Cru Brut $69.99

Henry Billiot Fils Brut 2002 $84.99

Duval Leroy – Femme 1996 $99.99

 (Tasting Note: James, you’ll really like the Nicolas Feuillatte, it’s pink!)

 

 

 

Too much of anything is bad, too much Champagne is just right…

…Thank you Mr.Twain, I have to say I agree with you. 

As the first official Cantina Sociale is set to meet this Saturday evening, I feel it necessary to provide to you a brief  introduction to our founding members.

Co-operative Founding Member 1: Me!

Co-operative Founding Member 2: David, my partner in crime (the crime being excess eating of fine delicacies from choux choux), Mr. Wine Spectator himself.

Co-operative Founding Member 3: Kristina, a.k.a the brains, hails from a little part of the world called Texas.  I just hope she doesn’t try to spike her wine with Dr. Pepper. 

Co-operative Founding Member 3: James, The Cheese Master, and yes I mean that literally folks, …well his role has yet to be decided.  But don’t worry James, we’ll all be happy as long as you don’t forget the bottle of wine on the top of your car and drive away. 

Last but not least, Co-operative Not-Quite-Founding Members 4 and 4.5: Mr.Finnegan and Little Livy, i.e. the fat cats.  Their job will be to provide an extra level of allergens.  Because if wine isn’t enough to make you feel foggy, an ever present layer of cat fuzz will do the trick!

And our Kick-Off-To-A-Great-Wine-Club selection is none other than …bubbly, what else? 

Oh the excitement is a bubblin’ in anticipation to see what every ones selection is going to be.  I myself love a good crisp Prosecco, especially at this time of year.  Dave, I know, loves his Crémants.  James I can imagine will bring something pink.  But Kristi…she’s a tough prediction. Hhhmmm, something yeasty, maybe.

In honour of James, our food accompaniment will be fondue.  How I love a good dips & sips party! And in keeping with our sparky theme, I found this recipe at my favourite go-to tummy grumbler Epicurious.com:

Three-Cheese Fondue with Champagne

Bon Appétit | February 2001 

 

4 teaspoons cornstarch

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1 1/4 cups dry (brut) Champagne

1 large shallot, chopped

2 cups coarsely grated Gruyère cheese (about 7 ounces)

1 1/3 cups coarsely grated Emmenthal cheese (about 5 ounces)

1/2 cup diced rindless Brie or Camembert cheese (about 3 ounces)

Generous pinch of ground nutmeg

Pinch of ground white pepper

1 French-bread baguette, crust left on, bread cut into 1-inch cubes

 

Preparation:

Stir cornstarch and lemon juice in small bowl until cornstarch dissolves; set aside. Combine Champagne and shallot in fondue pot or heavy medium saucepan; simmer over medium heat 2 minutes. Remove pot from heat. Add all cheeses and stir to combine. Stir in cornstarch mixture. Return fondue pot to medium heat and stir until cheeses are melted and smooth and fondue thickens and boils, about 12 minutes. Season fondue with nutmeg and white pepper. Place over candle or canned heat burner to keep warm. Serve with bread cubes.

 

Happy Dipping!