Wine dividends, medals and twisted corks

Around this time last year the LCBO boasted about record profits, sales increases and an unprecedented $1.55 billion dividend flipped into the provincial government’s coffers. My May 17, 2012 column noted the 4.7 billion reasons to love the LCBO. The 2012 transfer was up 9.9 per cent over 2011.

Amorim and O-I’s HELIX cork PHOTO: O-I

as seen on canada.com

As of this morning, the new statistics are out and while the spin  plays a familiar proselytizer’s refrain, the numbers might seem to tell a different story. According to the LCBO press release,  ”operational efficiency and growth through store network improvements were key factors in LCBO’s 2012-13 financial results. It was LCBO’s 18th straight year of record sales and 19th consecutive record dividend.”

Here are the numbers, though ”these financials have yet to be audited.”

  • Net sales of $4.892 billion, up $182 million (3.9 per cent) from 2011-12.
  • Transfer of an all-time high $1.7 billion dividend, not including taxes, to the Ontario government. $70 million (4.3 per cent) more than in 2011-12.
  • Net income rose $53 million to $1.711 billion, up 3.2 per cent.

Don’t be misled because the beer, wine and spirits superstore is no shrinking violet. There can be little argument that the numbers remain anything but staggering but it can be suggested that growth may be entering a somewhat stymied period. The Ontario government saw their stipend reduced from just about 10 per cent to slightly more than 4 per cent, according to these latest figures. The total sales percentage increase was also slower than the previous year. Could this be an area of concern when considering the health and viability of the provincial liquor monopoly? An upcoming December 2013 auditor general’s report, if it indeed includes the LCBO, may soon shed new light.

Meanwhile, Wine Align this morning began a search for Canada’s top wines at the inaugural National Wine Awards of Canada being held in Niagara. With the support of host partner Wine Country Ontario, #NWAC13 is hosting a wide selection of the country’s leading wine writers and tasters, gathered together to evaluate well over 1,000 wines grown in Canada and to award Platinum, Gold, Silver and Bronze medals in some two dozen categories.  Wines from British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario, Quebec and Nova Scotia will be assessed using the same 100-point system employed at WineAlign. Full results will be published on Wine Align in September. Here is the official medie release:

http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/-1802537.htm

Anthony Gismondi and David Lawrason, Wine Align National Wine Awards of Canada 2013 Photo: http://www.winealign.com

The winning wines will be showcased in a special feature section of the National Post’s Financial Post Magazine.  A staggering number (1100 wines) are to be poured, swirled, sniffed, tasted and evaluated by 17 wine critics representing six Canadian provinces.

Wine Align has taken the reigns from the competition previously known as the Wine Access Canadian Wine Awards.  Further groundbreaking is taking place across the pond. A New Twist On Cork has been unveiled “with the launch of a twistable and re-sealable version that could do away with the corkscrew.” The Helix cork is being unveiled this week at Vinexpo in Bordeaux. The “new cork and bottle has a thread finish, which allows drinkers to twist the stopper open and closed again, creating on airtight barrier.”

Portuguese cork manufacturer Amorim and US bottle maker O-I have teamed up to create the new technology, aimed at the $10-20 niche in the bargain wine market. The cork is made from agglomerated, or granulated material and is surely meant to take the screw cap industry to task.  The Helix will attempt to gain control of a divided industry. On one side, the wineries and buyers who support cork closures with a die-hard insistence that wine needs to breath and age via a real cork closure. On the other, the proponents of the screw cap, winemakers and consumers who point out that cork taint (TCA) ruins approximately 5% of all wines bottled under cork and also who insist that cork does not actually allow wine to breath.

This according to British wine writer Jamie Goode: “It certainly looks pretty striking. A key issue will be whether or not it is adopted by leading wine brands, which could help launch it in the eyes of consumers (who are traditionally quite cautious about wine packaging), and of course whether it is affordable enough for a tight-margin wine market. Also, will it need a capsule to make it tamper-evident? Without a capsule, it looks really good.” The immediate future certainly looks interesting.

Good to go!

Good time wine and a beer for Father’s Day

Barque Smokehouse Beef Brisket PHOTO: JILL CHEN/FREESTYLEFARM.CA

as seen on canada.com

But we’ll get together then, dad
We’re gonna have a good time then

Father’s Day demands an obvious directive to reconnect but what does dad really want on Sunday? Maybe he wants to watch the U.S. Open down the stretch or just sit in a chair in the garden. Dad might want company while he works on an old car or maybe he’d just like to take a nap: “Some daddies like to camp out with you and the dog.”

The connection between fathers and their kids is immune to the pressures of a marketing-driven day. Dads have it easy. A good father can do no wrong in the eyes of his children. Unconditional love is a beautiful and immaculate thing.

How about this Twitter challenge from @Stratuswines:

So here goes:

Dad 1933 is a fountain of youth at 80-years-old. Kind, gentle and soft-spoken. Never has been heard a disparaging word by anyone who has known or come into contact with him. Structured, balanced, has aged gracefully and still has the legs to offer pleasure for many years to come.  100  @mgodello

Wine is easy, wine is fun. Picking up a special bottle can offer a kid in the candy store experience. Go for two and the opportunity presents to share one and leave the other in dad’s cellar. Here are seven can’t miss choices, to bury a bone for later enjoyment and to raise a glass to dad.

Clockwise from top left: Melville’s Ginger Beer, Donatien Bahuaud Vouvray Les Grands Mortiers 2012, Decoy Cabernet Sauvignon 2010, Sori’ Paitin Barbaresco 2008, Paolo Conterno Barolo ‘Riva Del Bric’ 2008, and Cakebread Cellars Chardonnay 2011

Melville’s Ginger Beer (334797, 4×275 mL, $9.95) from the Innis & Gunn Brewing Company is just what dad ordered, especially if he’s Scottish, played 18 in the morning and is now watching a good Scot like Martin Laird win the US Open. Or anyone else who fancies a Shandy for that matter. Light in alcohol (4.1 per cent) yet full-bodied and ginger-tinged in a provocative and pungent way. Gingered yet fruit-driven, full of pep, pop and hopping flavour. Late afternoon revivalist beer.  90  @MelvillesLager

Donatien Bahuaud Vouvray Les Grands Mortiers 2012 (140889, $15.95) from the VINTAGES June 8, 2013 release tasted May 3, 2013. Brings on good, clean soda fun. Dry entry, off-dry continuum and great sweet finish. The blind pilot has got classic Loire smells of “paint or pollen, brick in your mortar.” Verve, acidity, tight lemon swath and spirited length.  90  @ProfileWineGrp

Decoy Cabernet Sauvignon 2010 (186171, $29.95) from the VINTAGES June 8, 2013 release tasted May 3, 2013. Travels that MOR station road, in an Eagles Hotel or John Mayer Queen kind of way, but for uncomplicated dad, that’s OK. Cool, California, “dark desert highway” night scents, like colitas and creosote. A warm, Sonoma Cabernet that will have you “looking for the sun that Neil Young hung.” Vanilla, fresh berries, lit herbs, balancing acidity and moderate (13.9 per cent) alcohol conjoin for extended play.  90  @duckhornwine

Sori’ Paitin Barbaresco 2008 (106591, $32.95) from the VINTAGES June 8, 2013 release tasted May 3, 2013. Always offer great value, even if its modernity pressures an approachability bordering on femme fatale. Classic attributes by way of tar, roses, tannin and musky animal funk meet a fruit embarrassment of riches. Big for Sori, Shirley, surely. Ready and willing to pair with slow-smoked brisket.  91  @MarkJJacoby

Paolo Conterno Barolo ‘Riva Del Bric’ 2008 (172783, $38.95) from the VINTAGES March 16, 2013 release tasted twice, February 8th and April 30th, 2013. From young vines, is rousing and lofty for under $40. Seamless woven tapestry of pheromone and punch. Esculent sweet cinnamon cherry, pipe smoke, orange blossom and rose floral. Succulent, long and leggy.  Piedmont for a psalm.  91  @liffordwine

Cakebread Cellars Chardonnay 2011 ($59.95, Charton Hobbs, 2010, 709717, $57.95) tasted with Dennis Cakebread at Stock Restaurant, Trump Hotel, June 3, 2013. Night harvested, whole cluster pressed and aged in 1,2 and 3 year-old barrels. “We’re not working for big and buttery,” notes Cakebread and it shows. A medium-plus toast that is void of resin and sinew allows for a mineral, acidity and orchard fruit driven Chardonnay, augmented by a far easter, a gust of green mango, lime and capsicum.  Near-kindred spirit to Paul Pender’s Robyn’s Block 2010. Shaken, not stirred on its lees, well-refined and certainly in balance. Will age gracefully.  92  @CakebreadWines

Marchand-Tawse Volnay 1er Cru 2011 ($65, Vinifera) tasted May 6th at Modus Restaurant blends fruit harvested out of a tempestuous growing season from parcels at the lower end of the Villages. “Lots of substance,” notes Marchand and unmistakably Volnay, in brut strength and firm backbone. Just bottled two weeks ago, the Pinot is not so much in shock but more like in hysteria. Wild and unruly, this will abandon the rock and hard place when it settles into its viking skin.  92  @pasmarchand

Good to go!

Showcase Showdown: Rosewood Sémillon

White wine grapes PHOTO: ROSEWOOD ESTATES

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Humbled once again. After tasting through five vintages of Rosewood Sémillon, there are two things I now know for certain. It’s impossible to guess the exact value of prizes in the showcase showdown and even harder to predict the tasting future of a Rosewood Sémillon. If only the Price is Right finale included these great prizes. Bright-eyed winemaker (Luke Orwinski) chomping at the bit to share his grape, game show host plans with the world. Queen social bee (Krystina Roman) directing the drones with striking and graceful precision. Lunch courses as dreamy art-rock chord progressions by chef Ren Mercer of Toronto’s Spoke Club.

Rosewood Semillon (Photos: Michael Godel)

#SemillonShowcase

The club’s private dining room offered an intimate and focused setting for a Rosewood Estates Winery Sémillon five vintage retrospective spanning the vintages 2008-2012. Sémillon the amenable white variety is most often employed in combination with Sauvignon Blanc to forge the dry white wines of Bordeaux and more famously, the dessert wines from Sauternes and Barsac. Winemakers on the west coast have used the grape for some grand Late Harvest Botrytis dessert wines. As a stand alone varietal, Mt. Boucherie out of B.C. makes terrific Sémillon and the grape has flourished in Australia’s Hunter Valley but as a dry white it has gained little attention virtually anywhere else. Mark Kent has made some stellar single bottlings at Boekenhoutskloof in South Africa but look elsewhere and its rare solo usage is both confounding and disturbing.

Enter Rosewood Estates. Their Sémillon is magical. Granted, in leaner years it strikes a more than spooky close resemblance to Bench Riesling but in glorious vintages it takes on a level of complexity no other Niagara white can match. I feel compelled to lead the charge. #StandSémillonStand.

Rosewood Estates is located on the Beamsville Bench astride the Niagara Escarpment. Family run, community-centric and driven by people, place and passion. Most of all there are the bees. The Roman family has been in the beekeeping business going back more than 50 years. “With over 40 acres under vine (across two vineyards) and over 350 hives as of 2012, the team is excited to be one of the premium mead producers in Canada.”

Rosewood Wines and Tasting Menu

Sémillon 2012 ($18, part of the Select Series, brand new label, to be released Fall 2013) is their most intense ever. An exceptional growing season amps the honey sounds to 11, speeds up the sugars to 33 and while there is obviously no sign of chapitalization, added acid stabilizes the high tropical nuance. Huge style for Sémillon, mulched in miele, fruit flavours amplified and lengthened by 14.6 per cent alcohol. Une cousine to J.L. Groux’s Stratus SV, if less grapefruit and increased value.  90

Tasting Plate #1 – Crab Salad + Braised Pork Belly with spring onion and sea buckthorn

The Spoke Club Crab Salad and Pork Belly

Sémillon 2011 ($18, June 22nd VINTAGES Release, at the winery) is frighteningly honeyed and its blatant acidity brings out all the right zest notes in the seafood. Major (three times) cropping from a “disease control vintage” by Orwinski who “knows the vineyard. It really is his home.” He’s still chanting “drop the crop!” in his sleep. The citrus and soda are glaring, exciting and invigorating in ’11, as is the aforementioned honey, the trump card keeping the Sémillon from being confused for Riesling.  Fascinating study.  91

Sémillon 2010 ($18, Rosewood Estates Library and @barquebbq) is stoic, the most delicate and understated at the tasting. If ever there was a dumb phase, this would be it. The sea-earthy buckthorn gelée adds prurient and prosaic matter to the clement, crisp and almandine tisane. Unique to ’10, a marigold floral note hovers.  90  Previous note, Oct. 2, 2012: “shows little procrastination with a superfluity of lemon, lime and paraffin but like all great Sémillon, the wine needs time. A block of wax keeps the honey down but look for a mellifluous ooze three years on. Glittering sheen, diamond-like focus and crusted by an accent of lemon zest. Krystina Roman will lead this grape to stardom. “Come on you stranger, you legend, you martyr, and shine!” Top white. Shine on you crazy Sémillon.”  90

Tasting Plate #2 – Raw Ahi Tuna and asparagus with Thai basil + Caramelized Sweetbreads with chamomile

Sémillon 2009 ($18, Rosewood Estates Library) has changed course since last October by way of a portal-scooching entry into secondary life. Digs deep in the vineyard’s dirt, stretches, grasps and reaches limestone. A product of the most natural vintage, picked late (October 16th), bleating and stonking high in spontaneous, innate acidity. Highlight of the tasting, full of the Clint (citrus and flint).  92  Previous note, Oct. 24, 2012: “may understate its pineapple, Bosc pear and white pepper bequeathal due to the rains of the vintage yet still retains its Viognier like viscosity and floral tide. All quality Semillon needs three to five years to gain weight and Rosewood’s track record tows that line. A mysterious herbal note lies beneath the tropical nuances and Spytkowsky can’t place her nose on it. It’s Rhône-esque garrigue in bloom, not unlike thyme, rosemary or oregano.”  90

Sémillon 2008 ($18, Rosewood Estates Library) is well into collateral, ancillary development. Retains a verve in acidity and twang, similar in style to ’09 and ’11 but the petrol has begun. Another sticky Rosewood, a Pooh-magnet, but also with tropical flavours. Unchained Renaceau rocker, with a funky high leg kick, a wild cat’s wail and if you wait for it, lemon citrus blossom comes out in the last refrain. The gift that keeps on giving. ”Yeah ya hit the ground running.”  92

Tasting Plate #3 – Braised oxtail ravioli with brown butter

The Spoke Club Braised Oxtail Ravioli

Lock, Stock & Barrel 2011 ($34, at the winery) offers distinct vocal performances from Cabernet Sauvignon (44 per cent), Merlot (37) and Cabernet Franc (16) while Petit Verdot gives buoyant girth. Clean, juicy fruit, timed to be picked just ahead of the rains. Repeated battonage and cold soaking make for a remarkably velvety and stylish Meritage. Savoury and piquant, seamless and integrated, the tannins are created by the fruit itself. “In 2011 we got brown stems,” notes Orwinski. Translation? Ripe grapes.  91

Tasting Plate #4 – Poached rhubarb

Harvest Gold Mead 2011 ($15, 500 mL, VINTAGES July 20) is dated by the honey’s bi-annual harvest. Tends dry, gingery, dusty and with a candlenut sweetness, like Gewurz. William Roman Senior dreamt to make mead but was denied the license. Well Krystina, you’ve brought home the cup. ”His dream is my life.” Previous note: is so simple it’s the zen koan of the wine world. Hue as if Riesling or Semillon. Perfume is significant and verdant. Made from a lighter honey as per the vintage, this is “an ode to traditional mead, with a savoury component and cool balance,” notes winemaker Natalie Spytkowsky. Fermented and aged in 100 per cent stainless steel it buzzes out with a tang like late harvest Riesling but finishes remarkably dry. Honey, water, yeast. The whole aviary. Nothing petty about it.  “Peace in the valley with my honey bee.” 88

Mead Noir 2012 ($25, VINTAGES June 15th Online Release, 350835) is oh so Rosé. Made in every other vintage, the Noir interchanges with the Blanc (Gewurz). A shout out to Malivoire fro the clear, Burgundy bottle under screwcap to house this singular Beamsville sweety. This is Pyment Mead, from Pinot Noir, 20 per cent Merlot and a touch of Sussreserve Riesling to bring sweet and tang into equilibrium. Aperitif, tonic, refresher, drink to chill. Works in so many ways. 90

Good to go!

Money back guarantee wines

Here are five wines that will present no reason to be looking for a refund or an exchange. PHOTO: ARCADY/FOTOLIA.COM

as seen on canada.com

Ever opened a bottle of wine, had a sip or two and decided you just didn’t like it? Happens all the time, right? The thing is, in most cases you can return that wine, especially if it was purchased at one of the many provincial monopolies in Canada. Here’s a short primer on refund, return and exchange policies across Canada.

Related – more current releases

“The SAQ exchanges or refunds any product purchased in an SAQ outlet less than a year before. You must present the sales receipt when requesting a refund. For exchanges, the sales receipt is optional.” The LCBO used to offer their customers that same level of respect to offset the negative impact a monopoly’s policies can effect upon a helpless consumer (monochromatic and or lack of quality choice, lottery selections for small lot and hard to acquire selections, indifferent deference to local product, hyperbolic inflation on comparable US supermarket wines, archaic laws towards inter-provincial shipping, import agent strong arming, to name a few). As of April of 2012, you now have only 30 days to return a bad bottle and unlike the SAQ, you need the receipt for a direct exchange. For LCBO returns, wines “must be in ‘saleable condition’ and accompanied by the original receipt. Saleable means that the product must be unopened and have the label intact, for example.  Defective product is treated differently.” Manitoba follows suit. Who brought these guys to the party?

The same applies to defective products; wines with perceptible flaws, such as TCA (cork taint) or VA (volatile acidity). The 30-day LCBO rule is a sham, I mean shame. The open-ended return policy made up for so much of the monopoly’s shortcomings. Alas, no more.

British Columbia’s Liquor board is no piece of cake either. You can only “return a product in B.C for a full refund, provided the product is unopened, in saleable condition an official BC Liquor Stores receipt for the product is presented.” At least they’ve thrown a bone to caterers who can now return unopened liquor products. Nova Scotia follows Quebec’s policy. “Defective or broken product may be returned to any NSLC store for full exchange or refund and does not require a receipt. All customers returning defective or broken product must be willing to provide name, address and telephone number to the NSLC store representative.”

In Saskatchewan it appears that only “permittees can return any unopened spirit and wine bottles and sealed, full beer cases that were purchased for the event provided they provide the original sales receipt.” Remind me not to purchase defective wine in that province. As far as New Brunswick is concerned “at the discretion of the Liquor Store Manager, Alcool NB Liquor will accept product returns for full refund. The sales slip should accompany the returned item.”

Newfoundland’s system, at least on paper, is very fair and civilized, though all returns seem to be in the powerful hands of a store manager. “NLC will accept product returns, at the discretion of the Liquor Store Manager. In the case of defective merchandise, NLC will permit product returns or exchange, at the discretion of the Liquor Store Manager for a full refund where the product is no more than half empty and he product was listed by NLC within the last 12 months. Better than the LCBO. Best of all may me Prince Edward Island. “At the discretion of the Liquor Store Manager, the PEILCC will accept product returns for full refund. The sales slip should accompany the returned item. All returns will be on a “bottle-for-bottle” basis.” Civilized.

Alberta’s Gaming and Liquor Board only accepts “refunds for the following types of faulty products; returned due to customer complaint; a sealed bottle(s) which: is partially filled; has a damaged cap or cork; or is contaminated with a foreign material. A claim for a refund for a faulty product must be received by the AGLC Product and Pricing Department within 30 days of receipt of product by the claimant.” Quality retailers in provinces with a private system (like Alberta) will also take back an unwanted bottle, though they might not be so lenient when you try to bring back that bottle of First Growth Bordeaux. Some wines are sold with an unwritten rule. You lay down your money and you takes your chances.

Everybody’s got a hungry heart. “Lay down your money and you play your part.” So, to avoid disappointment and disappointing your local monopoly or retailer, here are five bargain wines, one for each day of the week beginning today, Monday June 10th. Five wines that will present no reason to be looking for a refund or an exchange.

From left: Place In The Sun Shiraz 2012, Fielding Estate Gewürztraminer 2010, Lealtanza Crianza 2009, Flat Rock Cellars Riesling 2012, and A & G Papaioannou Estate Agiorgitiko SV Nemea 2007

The Grape: Shiraz

The history: New range of fair trade and sustainable wines from 321 year-old Stellenbosch winery Zonnenbloem

The lowdown: This is not a cheap bottle of fermented sugar. A breath of restrained, balanced and fresh grapes awaits

The food match: Grilled Rib-Eye Steaks and Local Asparagus

Place In The Sun Shiraz 2012 (286088, $13.10) is a balanced effort “at half the price” of many similar South African wines, here crafted by the Cape’s Zonnenbloem Winery from vineyards cooled by False Bay. Campfire smoke, grilled meat, spice and antipasti char attribute this chewy, biltong red. Characterized by a musical, magical, folk spirituality. A Hoodoo Guru.  88  @APlaceintheSunSA

The Grape: Gewürztraminer

The history: Grape King Curtis Fielding and winemaker Richie Roberts are swiftly crafting a mid-range, diverse portfolio into the Ontario wine industry, unparalleled in execution and success

The lowdown: This Gewürz leans Alsace in a sweet sense but not in heft or a serious, contemplative way

The food match: Grilled Cumin Salmon

Fielding Estate Gewürztraminer 2010 (146753, $15.95) acts likes lees dessert as almond vanilla pudding with a side of lychee preserve. While I heart more the Riesling and Pinot Gris from winemaker Richie Roberts, this sugarplum Gewürztraminer has earned a rightful place at the table.  88  @FieldingWinery  @RichieWine

The Grape: Tempranillo

The history: Tempranillo specialist from Spain, located in Fuenmayor, in the heart of Rioja

The lowdown: Consistent value Tempranillo from a modern facility crafting wine with a foot in the austerity of the past

The food match: Barque Smokehouse Brisket

Lealtanza Crianza 2009 (114835, $16.95) exhibits more heat and caramelization than previous vintages. Vivid Sangria, pumped up by cherries in simple syrup and fleshy plum fruit. Accented by fennel and basil. Good length and even better value.  89  @bodegasaltanza  @ProfileWineGrp

The Grape: Riesling

The history: Founded in 1999 on the Jordan Bench and operated today by Ed Madronich and his father Ed Madronich Sr. Winemaker is Jay Johnston

The lowdown: This just might be the most trocken Ontario Riesling on the market today

The food match: Grilled Veal Chops and Wild Leeks

Flat Rock Cellars Riesling 2012 (43281, $16.95) is a single varietal conundrum, intensely dry, dusty yet dripping in grape concentration. Huge soda nose, I mean a crazy proboscis. Love the dry entry and off-dry tangent. Twenty Mile Bench issue reminiscent of Rheinhessen. Admirable length and trebled finish.  90  @Winemakersboots @UnfilteredEd

The Grape: Agiorgitiko

The history: Main cultivar from a modern winery of the Ancient Nemea, located in the district of Corinth

The lowdown: A 100% indigenous Greek varietal, aged for one year in oak barrel and further matured in the bottle for six months

The food match: Halloumi

A & G Papaioannou Estate Agiorgitiko SV Nemea 2007 (47977, $19.95) has reached a ripe oxy age but this weathered and sensuous, sun-kissed by gods Greek red is still a classic beauty. Quintarelli-like toffee, tobacco acetic reduction and spiced plum seem like high praise I know but the acidity renders it a wash. Look out, buckets of cherries, tart currants and tar join the fun in this very interesting and intriguing Nemean single vineyard stunner.  89  @KolonakiGroup

Good to Go!

‘It’s Only Rock ‘n Roll’ (but I like wine)

The Rolling Stones’ Mick Jagger, centre, Keith Richards, right, Charlie Watts, back, and Ronnie Wood perform during a concert in Toronto as part of the band’s “50 & Counting Tour” on May 25, 2013. PHOTO: THE CANADIAN PRESS/FRANK GUNN

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It’s all about the rocks and stones, in music and wine. Witness songs of raw power, laid wide open, where the squeaks of chord changes, the twang of a plucked bass and the bee bop of a snare hang out exposed and naked. Seek relief in the soothing sound of a soulful ballad but nothing eases pain like a raunchy tune that “invites us to dance in the face of its own despair.” Rolling Stone Magazine rock critic Jon Landau‘s 1974 review of the Rolling Stones quintessential “we’re a rock ‘n roll band” album It’s Only Rock ‘n Roll hit the proverbial nail on the head, then and now. Like the title track, “it resonates like the sound of a shotgun.”

There was no It’s Only Rock and Roll Carrie Underwood duet with Mick Jagger last night at the The Rolling Stones 2nd ’50 and Counting’ tour Air Canada Centre show. I did not go. I had my fill of totemic super group, epic rock concerts in the 80′s and 90′s; Stones, Who, Kinks, Grateful Dead, Dire Straits, Genesis, Supertramp, Allman Brothers, Crazy Horse, E Street Band. Now give me shelter in the sounds of Spoon or Divine Fits. The best concerts then were the rock royalty derivative or solo shows; David Byrne, Peter Townshend, Mark Knopfler, Peter Gabriel and Keith Richards with arguably the greatest grape-related band name ever, the Expensive Winos.

The wine analogy qualifies as yet another hermeneutic. Minerals walk the walk and talk the talk. If the wines qualify as natural all the better, especially when the ferment is unafraid to expose its flaws and idiosyncrasies to be ogled and gazed upon. To smell rocks and stones in a swirled glass fulfills a base and necessary need. The fascination for geology can be quenched by so many international varieties and soils. Chenin Blanc in the Silex of the Loire, Nerello Mascalese atop volcanic Etna, Grenache amid the boulders of Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Sangiovese from the ultramafic of Tuscany and Chardonnay out of the Kimmeridgian soil of Chablis. To each animates an ownership of terroir. The world’s quarries have accustomed wine geeks with centuries of fine drink but never has an obsession possessed a community with such pleasures ere unknown. Enter the studios of the Niagara Peninsula, Lake Erie North Shore and Prince Edward County. Electric Lady, Motown and Muscle Shoals all rolled into one.

The collective geological consciousness embraced by the Ontario wine engineer is only rock and roll but everyone is digging it. If Let it Bleed signaled the Rolling Stones’ entry into an affair and infatuation with all things Americana, especially for vocals and guitar with a country music accent and twang, then It’s Only Rock ‘N Roll is the high swagger point. As a record it represents the culmination of a period where the room is eventually tied together by the rug of Some Girls. Ontario winemakers have entered the ‘open G’ tuning period in their careers, now with a few passionate, penetrating records under their belt. A ten year road lays ahead, destined to me mapped out by their greatest works, lithospheric wines to define their legacies, in toto as the supergroup history will remember them by.

Rocks and stones have for millenniums been used to construct homes, pathways, fences and places of worship. They have also been used to build wine. Here are ten current releases, forged from diverse mineral terrains and available now.

Clockwise from top left: Château Des Charmes Chardonnay Musqué 2010, Valdeorras Tempestad Godello 2011, The Foreign Affair The Conspiracy 2011, Coyote’s Run Red Paw Chardonnay 2011, Malivoire Pinot Noir 2010, Laurent Miquel Bardou St.-Chinian 2007, Ridge Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 2009, and Grgich Hills Chardonnay Estate Napa Valley 2010

Château Des Charmes Chardonnay Musqué 2010 (318303, $16.95 and at the winery) is the unoaked result of aromatic Clone 809 combed from the heavier clay-based soils from the St. David’s Bench Vineyard and the silty, mineral rich soils from Seven and Seven Vineyard. Tropical, strutting stunner with “a thousand lips I would love to taste.” Tell Ms. Musqué if you can’t rock me, nothing can.  90  @MBosc

Valdeorras Tempestad Godello 2011 (276071, $17.95) from Bodegas Abanico in Valdeorras whiffs the mineral temptation of a weathered, wet copper penny, secondary Riesling-like petrol, ripe peach and jamón wrapped around white date.  Delicious juicy fruit, nutty and just a touch of lees. Late seafood aftertaste, a crab drink to enjoy with a tempest of Spanish tapas. Ain’t Too Proud To Beg for this one.  89  @bodegasabanico

The Foreign Affair The Conspiracy 2011 (149237, $19.95), kissed, re-passed over and threatening to push boundaries as if it were singing “if I could stick a knife in my heart, suicide right on stage.” This Ilya Senchuk beauty may only be ripasso but I like it. Eases my pain and my brain. Excellent verve and honed of a rock star’s capacity to be loved, with tart, red and black fruit in waves, tar and charcoal. Svelte balance in fruit, alcohol, sweet and sour. This is THE vintage for this wine. Ten plus years lay ahead for a long affair and it will be rewarded with praise in future tastings.  92  @wineaffair

Coyote’s Run Red Paw Chardonnay 2011 (336115, $19.95) reminds of the lyric “and I don’t need no fancy food and I don’t need no fancy wine.” Many may not know it but David Sheppard’s Red Paw Chardonnay at $20 is fancy and serious. There is more toast than from memory and four miles of apple butter in the glass. Red Trafalgar clay loam and Queenston shale bedrock give it strength. Warm Chard for a cool climate with green herbs and a late mineral tinge. Apples in replay. Sadly, sister vineyard Black Paw was pulled due to a virus so we’ll savour this Red Paw Till The Next Goodbye.  88  @coyotesrun

Malivoire Pinot Noir 2010 (996777, $24.95) shows great warmth in rusty, bricking hue. High toned glossy fruit not to be mistaken for anything but Pinot. Tons of fruit character,  some tannin getting warmer in the glass. Time Waits For No One, least of all this very solid Pinot, verging on stunning. “Drink in your summer, gather your corn” for the Malivoire ’10′s time is now.  91 @MalivoireWine

Laurent Miquel Bardou St.-Chinian 2007 (328583, $24.95) the Syrah funk monster is heavy on mineral, chewy with currant flavours and a citrus hint. Like sucking on an iron lollipop that lasts and lasts. Luxury Languedoc.  90  @LanguedocWines

Raoul Gautherin Chablis 1er Cru Vaillons 2010 (159236, $28.95) has the rocks and stones, rolling in orchards, fields and dreams. Dancing Little Sister, bang on mineral, blessed length, wonderful. Full-on nervy and relevant Chablis. With her “we bacchanal, there ain’t no dawn.”   91  @purechablis

Domaine De L’aigle A Deux Tetes Cotes Du Jura Les Clou 2010 (323618, $39.00) is uncanny in apple cider character from ’08 planted Savagnin grapes and only 50 cases produced. Intense honey with just a touch of fromage, piercing mineral. The apples and honey are everywhere. A little Rosh Hashanah for you with tang, verve and length. “Give me the look of love,” says this Jura, If You Really Want To Be My Friend.  92  @JuraWine

Ridge Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 2009 (89284, $52.95) makes you gotta love the anti-napa concept, attitude and execution. The ’09′s nose is high in tone, accent and richesse but there is no syrup or gratuitous chocolate barrel aging or excessive berry extraction. Great finesse, balance and a sense of crushed rocks is a throwback to better times. Alcohol at a manageable 13.8 per cent so within reason, built on meter in metronome precision. Will be invited to dinner every night of the year. No Short And Curlies problem here.  94  @RidgeVineyards

Grgich Hills Chardonnay Estate Napa Valley 2010 (346304, $54.95) tasted previously continues to thrill in mineral char and length. From the Fingerprint File, my previous note, “glides in so much variety balance I can imagine showering with wine. You will not pigeon-hole this-worldly and structured white because its finesse reaches out across the great mineral vs tropical divide debate. Sure, there is timbered-driven, golden-fleshed apple, green melon and buttered, toasted bread, but there too is a sting of acidity. Stellar year for Napa Chardonnay. Great glass of sunshine. 93  @GrgichHills

Good to go!

Cooking 3,900 meals for 1,300 Ultimate athletes. Clothing optional

The Last Blender PHOTO: BLUE MCCLELLAN

as seen on canada.com

I am thoroughly and utterly exhausted. Outta gas. Kaput. Every bone in my body aches. Cuts, bruises and burns cover my hands and wrists. Put a fork in me. I’m done. That’s what cooking 3,900 meals to 1,300 Ultimate Frisbee players in 27 hours will do to you. That’s what cooking 30,000 meals to 10,000 athletes spanning 18 consecutive 1st weekends in June will do to your body. Wake me up next week.

The last time I can recall this type of exertion induced immotility of total debilitation was in January of 1989, upon descending from Mt. Kilimanjaro after a successful summit of Uhuru Peak. My travelling partner Daniel Gwartz (former Ultimate Frisbee Zoyds teammate) and I walked into the Moshi Hotel for a post-climb celebratory beer only to be woken hours later by the bartender, who graciously let us sleep for who knows how long, having simultaneously fallen asleep at some point during libation number two. When the cooking marathon in Fergus was mercifully over I returned to Toronto on Sunday afternoon, sat down at my computer to look through five days of missed e-mails, only to wake up two hours later sprawled out across my 11-year old’s bed. Many of the players felt the same way.

Participating teams at the Gender Blender 2013 (Photo: Swingers Ultimate)

The town of Fergus, Ontario currently lists its population at 19,241. The first weekend of June 2013 saw 1,300 Ultimate Frisbee players roll into town for the 17th annual and final Gender Blender Tournament, effectively causing a seven per cent occupancy rate increase to a quiet little town. The “GB” has been organized and flawlessly executed each year since 2008 by Blue McClellan of The Ultimate Experience. Though the event is only being recognized as having first been played in 1997, there were in fact two unofficial Gender Blenders previously played in 1995 and 1996.

Every year since 1995 I have prepped, cooked for and fed upwards of 800 Ultimate Frisbee players. The 2013 tournament, announced as having been the last, was by far the largest Ontario zodiac gathering of the most spirited athletes on the planet. Fergus is a quaint and upscale hamlet in Wellington County on the picturesque Grand River, just upstream from the Elora Gorge. The GB tournament alters the town’s ‘smallville,’ Cooperstown-like landscape and could best be described as Burning Man meets the World Cup. It’s a carnival, circus, music festival and high-level sporting competition all rolled into one. If you’ve never seen top-tier Ultimate Frisbee in action then you’ve deprived yourself of witnessing the speed, agility, grace, power, impossible athleticism and most of all, spirit, that defines the sport. In fact, you can watch some of the best Ultimate players in action this coming summer at the WFDF Under 23 World Ultimate Championships 2013.

Once upon a time I played Ultimate Frisbee. While I was certainly no All-Star, I could find my way around a flick, backhand, hammer, force, poach and even a sizzling bacon. Unfortunately, one week before that first event back in ’95, I tore my ACL, effectively ending my Ultimate playing days. I cooked that first Gender Blender for 125 on crutches. The Zoyds were a pretty good team. We were even better at having fun and thanks to the passion and personality of our captain Patrick van der Valk, together we helped to develop and foster the concept of the spirit of the game. Patrick is currently the Chairperson of the Spirit of the Game Subcommittee of the World Flying Disc Federation.

Google “spirit of the game” and note that seven of the first ten entries are related to Ultimate. There are no referees in the amateur game. Players govern themselves. Points are awarded for good sportsmanship. The competition does not suffer as a result. Watch good teams play and you’ll get it. Then there’s Fergus. For one weekend only, the fields, campsites and general vicinity of the Wellington County Sportsplex turn into an Alice in Wonderland set, complete with team-erected structures (marked by totems and idols with erections), an apparatus built here for swinging and there for sliding. Clothing is optional, as is sleep, impromptu concerts and skits pop-up through the night and bragging rights go to best costumes, encampment engineering and winner of the party.

Ultimate Frisbee; clothing optional (Photo: stephkimmerle/Instagram)

Meanwhile, there I am cooking away, 12 hours a day for five straight in the Fergus Community Centre kitchen. I’m told there was a roar of applause for my catering team in the main tent on Saturday night. We were oblivious, passed out and trying to get 5 hours of shut-eye in preparation of cooking something like 2500 pancakes and an equal number of sausages on Sunday morning. I thank the Ultimate community for their generosity and kindness of spirit. It has always been a pleasure to feed you.

Cooking for 1,300 is as physically demanding an endeavour as you will ever take on. I am proud to call myself a warrior and a survivor. I’m not as young as I used to be and while I am still too tired to appreciate the accomplishment, I know I done good.

RIP GB (Photo: Mike Gregus)

The long road to 2013 saw many hands take part in the 18 year success of the Gender Blender. The organizers; Dan, Mark, Giles, Karen, Dilhan and Blue. The cooks; Michael (me), Eric, Lauren, Jeffrey, Eric, Kelly, Sabrina, Diana, Annick, Monica, Fred, Vera, Christine, Eva, Lucy, Pamela, Chris and Josie. The staff; Johnny, George, John, David, Tracey, Luisa, Andrea, Nicole, James, Susi, Matthew, Clinton, Mike, Susanna, Astrid, Caitlin, Drew and Nick. Thank you for your dedication, work ethic and perseverance.

Here was the final Gender Blender dinner menu, in all its glory:

Tofu, Squash, Sweet Potato Ratatouille,  miso, ginger, honey, chile glaze

Chinese Chicken Soup, pork wontons, bok choy, scallion

Chicken and Beef Enchiladas, pulled chicken and beef chuck, mild chile, enchilada sauce

Steamed Corn on the Cob, warm garlic butter

Legumes Salad, green beans, snap peas, chick peas, candy beets, fennel, lemon-orange vinaigrette Padano parmesan

Penne Pasta, tomato, garlic sauce, herbs and Italian sausage ragu

Caesar Salad, croutons, Caesar dressing

Good to go!

LCBO Elsie Awards

An LCBO store in Toronto

An LCBO store in TorontoPhoto: Aaron Lynett/National Post

as seen on canada.com

House cleaning, a.k.a. skimming the fat from the stock seems to be on Rob Ford’s Toronto city hall agenda as staffers continue to resign and be dismissed of their duties. Premier Kathleen Wynne says “I am worried about the situation at Toronto City Hall and as appropriate, we will be involved”. Meanwhile, the provincial liquor monopoly continues to roll along. On Wednesday night, May 29th the LCBO held their “Elsies,” an awards event held annually to honour its suppliers and agents for their innovation, creativity and commitment to customer service and social responsibility. The Elsies, a play on “LCBO,” is an annual industry awards program now in its 19th year.

“The Elsies are an important recognition of LCBO suppliers and agents who have excelled at product marketing,” said Shari Mogk-Edwards, vice-president, Products, Sales and Merchandising, and co-chair of the Elsies. “These winners have been great partners of the LCBO in creating opportunities for consumers to discover new and interesting beverage alcohol products.”

Congratulations to all the deserving recipients. Big shout out to Curtis and Heidi Fielding, winemaker Richie Roberts and the entire Fielding Estate team for their VQA Excellence Award. Also, kudos to Hilary Dawson, Magdalena Kaiser-Smit and their team at the Wine Council of Ontario for being honoured with the Partnership (WOW Leader) in Training Award. Here are the 27 Elsie Award Recipients for 2013.

SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY: Diageo Canada Inc. – Guinness Canada #TAXI

BEST SPECIAL EVENT: Labatt Breweries of Canada – Beer Discovery Project BEST VINTAGES ON-PREMISE COLLABORATION: Lifford Agencies – Lifford Portfolio Tasting at Wychwood Barns

ENVIRONMENTAL COMMITMENT: Miguel Torres SA BEST FOOD&DRINK AD: Corby Distilleries Limited – Absolut BEST GIFT ITEM: Mill Street Brewery – Mill Street Celebration Sampler Pack BEST NICHE MARKETING: Diageo Canada – Johnny Walker, Chinese New Year VQA EXCELLENCE AWARD: Fielding Estate Winery VINTAGES PORTFOLIO AWARD OF EXCELLENCE: Profile Wine Group BEST IN-STORE TASTING PROGRAM: Andrew Peller Limited

BEST INTEGRATED MARKETING PROGRAM: Forty Creek Distillery Ltd. – Support of Forty Creek Barrel Select and their growing family of brands BEST VINTAGES EVENT: Charton-Hobbs Inc. – Dom Perignon Reception and Dinner

BEST NEW PRODUCT LAUNCH: SPIRITS & READY-TO-DRINK: Forty Creek Distillery Ltd. – Forty Creek Copper Pot Reserve BEST NEW PRODUCT LAUNCH: WINES: Andrew Peller Limited – Skinny Grape BEST NEW PRODUCT LAUNCH: BEERS: Carlsberg Canada Inc.- Somersby Cider PARTNERSHIP AWARD – PRODUCT FLOW: Samarie Lumsden – Corby Distilleries Limited PARTNERSHIP IN TRAINING AWARD: Wine Council of Ontario – WOW Leader Program PARTNERSHIP AWARD: VINTAGES: Rick Slomka – Wines of California PARTNERSHIP AWARD: BEERS: Taras Hetmanczuk – Molson Coors Canada PARTNERSHIP AWARD: WINES: Philip Mirabelli – Noble Estates Wines & Spirits PARTNERSHIP AWARD: SPIRITS & READY-TO-DRINK: Ryan McCue – Diageo Canada Inc. PARTNERSHIP AWARD: RETAIL: Linda Belsey – Forty Creek Distillery Ltd.

PARTNERSHIP AWARD: SUPPLY CHAIN: E. & J. Gallo Winery Canada Ltd. SPECIAL RECOGNITION AWARD: Doug Beatty AGENT/SUPPLIER OF THE YEAR AWARD: CLASS C: Keep6 Imports AGENT/SUPPLIER OF THE YEAR AWARD: CLASS B: Mill Street Brewery AGENT/SUPPLIER OF THE YEAR AWARD: CLASS A: Forty Creek Distillery Ltd.

Good to go!

See the humanity in real value wine

Glass of red wine PHOTO: FONS LAURE/FOTOLIA.COM

as seen on canada.com

There is no secret that Canadians and especially the wine consumer from Ontario, desperately want more choice. We want private wine shops that can specialize in niche products. We want all Canadian grapes to be granted passports to travel freely from province to province. We want access to real wines made by passionate human beings. We don’t want plonk.

Twice a month I taste through in excess of 100 hundred wines scheduled for release through VINTAGES, the fine wine and spirits division of the LCBO. On some days the wines, as a group, seem merely “better than dough.” On other days they cause one or more of my colleagues to say things like “this is the worst red wine day of my life.” The public knows that we have lagged for many years in wine retail. The public is ahead of the LCBO think tank on this.

Fortunately, or not, depending on how bright a side of life you look, more often than not I can look through and beyond the barbaric fringes and pick out a few primitive, unfettered warriors from the monopolistic offering. Once in a while the sea of humanity reveals itself and many wines shine, express their terroir, their somewhereness, their completeness. Here are nine estimable examples ready for immediate enjoyment, now in a store near you.

Clockwise from left: Delas Frères Saint-Esprit Cotes Du Rhône Rosé 2012, Le Gravillas Plan de Dieu Cotes Du Rhône Villages 2010, Marechal Brut Crémant De Loire, Domaine Des Aubuisières Cuvée De Silex Vouvray 2011, Domaine Schlumberger Les Princes Abbés Pinot Gris 2010, Château Lyonnat 2006, Château La Grange De Bessan 2009, Sigalas Santorini Assyrtiko 2011, and Bonaccorsi Viognier 2010

Delas Frères Saint-Esprit Cotes Du Rhône Rosé 2012 (224964, $13.95) is all sun and strawberry, almond and grapefruit tree scents after dark, so much spirit in the night. Salinity, markedly well-made and Muga-like. “Stand right up now and let it shoot through you.”  87  @HHDImports_Wine

Le Gravillas Plan de Dieu Cotes Du Rhône Villages 2010 (264648, $14.95) is simply a ton of wine for $15. That said, it takes extraction to the maximum and is yet blessed with a graceful level of gravitas. I wouldn’t want to drink too much of this, or any other similarly concentrated and heavily fruit- endowed Rhône but there is enough mineral and tar character to keep Le Gravillas honest.  88

Marechal Brut Crémant De Loire (141077, $15.95) foams frothy forth alive and expansive out of a yeasty starter, spins lightly on its A16 axis and revolves tightly wound around a citrus spindle. A working class Marechal, real and made for the people. Perhaps not La Grande Illusion but a wine that will “show the common humanity present across these divisions.” About as good as Méthode Traditionnelle sparkling Loire Chenin Blanc can be and priced to fly.  89

Domaine Des Aubuisières Cuvée De Silex Vouvray 2011 (57042, $17.95, SAQ, 858886, $17.60) speaks sedimentary cryptocrystalline vernacular to narrate its Loire Chenin Blanc story by way of a ripe apple and blooming rose style. Off-dry and dehydrated by the chert, that defining, dusty silex soil. There should be land-driven $18 wine available, always and everywhere.  89  @LoireValleyWine

Domaine Schlumberger Les Princes Abbés Pinot Gris 2010 (21253, $19.95, SAQ, 913897, $22.85) returns the storied Alsatian to top form after a confounding ’09. Cool climate, perfervid pear considers dressing up in lime-spiked papaya but chooses to turn on its heel to put on a sequin-dotted silk dress. Spot on, shimmering scintillant.  90  @drinkAlsace

Château Lyonnat 2006 (243774, $19.95) built upon 85 percent Merlot, 11 per cent Cabernet Sauvignon and four percent Cabernet Franc has ancient and learned Right Bank morphology written all over its sweet, scorched earth perfume. Has entered the zone, in toasted cedar and grilled beef on the bone integration but caramel and kindling are just around the corner. Get in while the coals are smoking. Reminds me of the good oak days.  89

Château La Grange De Bessan 2009 (321331, $19.95) is a poster child for affordable, humanistic Médoc, Left Bank, hyped vintage Bordeaux. Mutton on the reductive nose does not impose a run and hide. Purple flowers, parquet smoke and dark chocolate co-mingle with iron, calcium and limestone. Meat-friendly, complex, well-structured.  90  @BordeauxWines

Sigalas Santorini Assyrtiko 2011 (74781, $21.95) must be a fairy tale, a Boucles d’or narrative of structure and complexity from the first swirl and sniff. Airy, saline, built of rich, gold guts. Perfectly ripened orchard fruit and fresh-squeezed grapefruit. Taste it and there’s a joyous dance, a kefi bursting inside, like great Champagne but minus the bubbles.  92  @KolonakiGroup

Bonaccorsi Viognier 2010 (318121, $23.95) from Santa Barbara’s Happy Canyon is bottled, golden Californian sunshine, rich, unctuous and tanned. Will be accused of being obnoxious, bellicose, even Sisyphean, but she and I don’t care. Spicy, candied yellow apple, sappy, honeysuckle scent meets an efflux of buttery cashew, like toasted Chardonnay crossed with aged Chenin. Grand Cali Viognier.  91  @jbonaccorsi

Good to go!

Around the world in eight Chardonnays

PHOTO: SUTSAIY/FOTOLIA.COM

as seen on canada.com

Chardonnay covers more than 400,000 acres seemingly everywhere and is the most widely planted wine grape on earth. Today marks its fourth annual global celebration. Who knew there was this marketing concept using social media as the thread that connects the global conversation together. If you live in Niagara and have some free time, then you my friend are in the right place. Many wineries (17 at last count) are offering special events and free tastings today, including Flat Rock Cellars, Tawse, Lailey, Hidden Bench, Thirty Bench, Southbrook, Coyote’s Run, Niagara College Teaching Winery, Pondview, Chateau des Charmes, Stratus, 13th Street, Henry of Pelham, Cave Spring, Malivoire and Norman Hardie. Click here for a full list of events.

Chardonnay is cool, especially in Canada, blessed with a quintessential climate for growing the most international and recognizable of the world’s white grapes. Chardonnay comes in all shapes and styles, from unoaked to heavily toasted, aged in stainless steel or concrete vats to barrel fermented. Some styles use wood chips, some Chardonnay is fermented on its lees. Chardonnay is responsible for some of the world’s great Sparkling wines, especially Champagne. Is there a comparable white grape that speaks of its origins in more varied tones? Conversely, can another variety be singled out as having suffered through more international vinification manipulation? So, Chardonnay conjunction junction, what’s your function?  Want to know what Canadians are saying about Chardonnay? Ontario Wine Chat has the answers.

If you are looking to experience the wonders of Chardonnay, from a global perspective, surrounded by experts in a setting designed for relaxation and genuflection, look here:

In anticipation of the International Cool Climate Chardonnay Celebration #i4c2013 and to pay tribute to this marketing sensation that is International Chardonnay Day, here are eight great examples from near and far, all available to taste, try and sample somewhere close by.

Clockwise from left: Cave Spring Estate Bottled Chardonnay Musqué 2010, Domaine du Chardonnay Chablis 2011, Southbrook Vineyards Triomphe Chardonnay 2011, Wolf Blass Gold Label Chardonnay 2010, Norman Hardie County Chardonnay 2011, Hidden Bench Tête de Cuvée Chardonnay 2009, Drappier Signature Blanc De Blancs Brut Champagne, and Stratus Chardonnay 2010

Cave Spring Estate Bottled Chardonnay Musqué 2010 (246579, $15.95) from Wines for the Ides of March is fresh in chert, posy aromatic and stuffed with an airy, sense of whipped lemon cream. Salinity and white pepper add kick and spice to this Chardonnay cousin only Cave Spring seems to have mastered.  89  @CaveSpring

Domaine du Chardonnay Chablis 2011 (183574, $19.95) deserves 105 points for the domain name alone but really this is just solid, good fun. Chablis as I expect it to be. Apples and cinnamon, ginger, a hint of macadamia and citrus zest. Minor bitter note trumped by ripe fruit and a clean finish. Really quite good.  88

Southbrook Vineyards Triomphe Chardonnay 2011 ($21.95, 172338) from A wine pentathlon binds FSO2 with jack or durian, febrile fruit. For now hard to figure, like a grey rose or a Pink Floyd. Offers up a creamy warmth in resonant echoes but amplified as if still trapped inside the barrel. The best days remain ahead for this certified and biodynamic Chardonnay, which in two to three years time will “come streaming in on sunlight wings.” 89  @SouthbrookWine

Wolf Blass Gold Label Chardonnay 2010 (606186, $29.95) is about as internationally-styled as it gets from the Adelaide Hills of South Australia. Smells like it’s still inside the barrel, as if the tropical fruit was wrapped up in a smoking, sweat lodge towel. Big on hot rocks, steaming and emitting earthy scents, nutty in every respect, big, big Chardonnay. Nerve, verve and understanding.  90  @WolfBlassWines

Norman Hardie County Chardonnay 2011 ($35, winery only) from Come together, over wine is not merely a window into the vintage but the portal. Bright, golden fruit, freakish level of mineral and longer than the old Greer Road. Norman will always have ’08 but the newbies will be lucky to discover 2011. Who wouldn’t fall for its charms. When it comes to this Prince Edward County Chardonnay, “one and one don’t make two, one and one make one.” I call that a bargain.  92  @normhardie

Hidden Bench Tête de Cuvée Chardonnay 2009 ($45, winery only) from Big wines from California and the Bench from HB’s oldest, most highly regarded and meticulously maintained vines shows ravishing and refined restraint in elegance. Warm pineapple and mango coagulation jarred by the vintage’s piercing acidity and immense length. Head of the class, rings the bell, nails the lecture.  93  @HiddenBench

Drappier Signature Blanc De Blancs Brut Champagne (599860, $46.95) continues a VINTAGES string of excellent value in Champagne releases. Made from 100% Chardonnay, this BdB is pronounced in , yeasty dough definition, hinting at agave and unwashed cheese rind. Where there’s bubbles there’s a way and I like where this one is going. The agave replays in sweet waves, as does the the sour in faint yet discernible sloshes. Much to contemplate in this NV sparkler.  90   @Halpernwine

Stratus Chardonnay 2010 ($55) from Stratus and Momofuku: Modernity incarnate from natural yeast, full batch (bunch) pressing and heeded by Paul’s call to full malolactic fermentation, this fruit was picked on November 15th, a day “you had to go run and pick fast.” Groux is not trying to make California or Burgundy but make the best in Niagara. Clarity and sun drenched hue, tropical fruit dominance, sweetness, malo-butterscotch obviousness. Some tart orchard fruit late but certainly warm vintage wine. Not the most arid Chardonnay but blessed with great length.  91  @Stratuswines

Good to go!

Go Gamay Go

Beaujolais at Acadia Restaurant Photos: (DANIEL YAM/WWW.DANIELYAMPHOTOGRAPHY.COM)

Beaujolais at Acadia Restaurant
Photos: (DANIEL YAM/WWW.DANIELYAMPHOTOGRAPHY.COM)

as seen on canada.com

It’s the current war cry by the voices of those who know. A plea and a calling to Canadian growers and winemakers to plant and bottle more Gamay Noir. A proclamation in favour of a great grape and one that forges signature wines out of Canadian soils. I am an ardent supporter of and a willing rider on the Gamay bandwagon, in the name of connaitre and savoir, kennen and wissen, recognition and understanding.

They are ostensibly all climatically cool, the wine regions of Canada. The Okanagan and Similkameen valleys of British Columbia, the Niagara Peninsula, Lake Erie North Shore and Prince Edward County of Ontario, the Annapolis Valley of Nova Scotia and Monteregie of Québec. But, it’s not just about the weather anymore. Existentially speaking, Canadian wine is cool.

Gamay is the grape of Beaujolais in east-central France and the principal variety of that immediate geographical neighbour to the south of the world’s most influential and serious of all wine regions, Burgundy. Thin-skinned, low in tannin and often in acidity too, Gamay has for centuries played last fiddle and ugly cousin to Pinot Noir. With the rise of the Beaujolais Cru, that is, red wines made from recognized and identified plots within appellations like Moulin à Vent, Brouilly and Morgon, Gamay has left the orchestra pit and is rapidly gaining solo notoriety. Beaujolais is no longer nouveau. It’s old hat.

While I wait for the #GoGamayGo network to convince our councils, marketing boards and vintners to establish a Canadian Cru system, or at least a comprehensive tasting of Canadian Gamay, I’ll turn my attention to our French forefathers.

Anthony Collet discussing Beaujolais Photos: Daniel Yam/www.danielyamphotography.com)

Anthony Collet discussing Beaujolais

On Wednesday, May 15th, The Beaujolais Wine Council, led by Anthony Collet of Inter Beaujolais and with the assistance of the Siren Group, hosted a wine tasting at Acadia Restaurant. Five ineluctable courses ushered in 12 diverse Beaujolais. The patio luncheon featured Indian, Korean, New Orleans and Portuguese barbecue created by chef Patrick Kriss. Chef’s plates are like holorimes, simple yet complex, parts seemingly unrelated yet bound together by rhyming flavours and techniques. Food crucially matched to Gamay ready to be reckoned with. The least of which made for simple, pleasurable drinking, the best as sang-froid, cellar worthy candidates. Here are the notes.

Beaujolais Wines

Beaujolais Wines

Château Des Jacques Beaujolais Grand Clos de Loyse 2010 (11094399, $19.75) from Louis Jadot holdings in Romanèche is shameless Chardonnay, forwardly fruity and straight on the rocks. From a stainless steel ferment, the Loyse gives off a vinous, tart, pressed gas and Hercynian sedimentary note. Soft white, lithe and airy.  88  @liffordwine

CREOLE SHRIMP, anson mills grits

Georges Duboeuf Beaujolais Fun 2009 (228155, $10.95, SAQ, 11459482, $14.75) talks turkey, offers a pretenseless picnic of pure Gamay fruit and remains remarkably fresh for a 2009. Puts the FU back into fun against many a challenger. I may be alone in defence of this simple quaff but inveigle against my wine soul if this ‘aint a good deal.  87  @dandurandwines

Louis Jadot Beaujolais-Villages Combe Aux Jacques 2011 (365924, $17.95, SAQ, 365924, $16.70) seems a simple distillation hosting a floating purée of raspberry and cranberry. A sniff of smoldering tree bark keeps it interesting. Nothing to hide from, nor to rush to.  86  @ljadot

Related – A terrific write-up of the event from The Wine Sisters

Acadia Restaurant's Piri Piri Chicken

Acadia Restaurant’s Piri Piri Chicken

 

PIRI PIRI CHICKEN LEG, yogurt

Bouchard Aîné & Fils Beaujolais Superieur 2011 (9431, $11.95) the fresh fruit maker shows some mid-life separation in peppery kick though it’s really quite round. Leads my table mates and I to believe it should be semi-chilled in good ones and over-chilled in less than good vintages.  86

Jacques Dépagneux Morgon Côte Du Puy 2011 (299925, $18.95) is possessed of the appellation’s basic lexical features, that is morphemic, mannish, “spell mmm, aaa child, nnn” linguistics, in smoke, spice and acidity. Goes deeper than non-Cru Beaujolais, if it’s just a bit leaner than when I first tasted it last November. This Gamay speaks in muddy water, beefcake tones now but may not be talking as proud as time goes by. Very good but not quite great example.  89

Domaine Joseph Burrier Saint-Amour Côte de Besset 2009 (11154419, $25.85) confounds by holding out a yes or no answer as to its possible ringer status. Inscrutable Gamay, puckering in dried raisin and cherry, but also sun-dried tomato. Baked, nearly tawny, sullied even. Clearly a child of the searing vintage, hefty and despite the cooked character, it matched quite well with the piquant chicken.  87

Acadia Restaurant's Grilled Eggplant

Acadia Restaurant’s Grilled Eggplant

 

GRILLED EGGPLANT, peanut, coconut & curry condiment

Château De Pierreux Brouilly 2011 (5496, $18.95, SAQ, 10754421, $20.15) is wondrous Gamay, clearly defined by aromas of juicy berries and all things forest. I could enjoy a boatload of this floral Brouilly without ever taking a sip. Further to that it starts out soft, vanilla relaxed, glides in confident refinement then spikes in smoke, tar and heat on the back palate. Could use a chill.  88

Villa Ponciago Fleurie La Réserve 2011 (299917, $21.95) from Champagne house Henriot is the most feminine thus far, expressive of a queen’s terroir, delicate, poignant, pretty. Deserving of a Roy Orbison croon, “ma fleur de lis, je t’aime beaujolais.” Reminds me of blueberry pie, or plum pudding, this PYT, full of aplomb and plume.  89  @WoodmanWines

George DuBoeuf Beaujolais-Villages 2010 (122077, $12.95) is a blast from the past, a parson’s project that wants to be juice but really it’s just pink turning red drink. Pink, red, sugar, water…drink. Certainly the most “nouveau” of the lot, this “catch twenty-two” bottle represents everything the region is trying to avoid and diversify away from. I will admit there is a touch of earthy complexity, just enough so to give it a lifeline and value.  85

Acadia Restaurant's Korean Short Rib

Acadia Restaurant’s Korean Short Rib

 

KOREAN SHORT RIB, crispy rice, sesame & chili

Domaine Manoir Du Carra Juliénas 2010 (290981, $19.95) the pearl finally puts some funk into “an otherwise empty room.” Dandy, candied peony, cracking good, cinnamon scented and jammy in Rhôneish behaviour. More structure than most.  Beaujolais’ daughter.  91

Domaine du Vissoux Moulin-à-Vent Les Trois Roches 2010 (11154427, $24.75) from star winemaker Pierres Dorées is the tasting’s prince, handsome, chivalrous, a lady’s man. Black cherry, duck reductive, sweet and musky. Searches for game, digs for truffles, wants to be seen with slow-cooked meat.  88

Domaine Piron-Lameloise Chénas Quartz 2009 (240481, $22.50) the flamboyant and flirtatious one is like a (clears throat) mini Brunello. Cherry, rose, tea, cedar and sandalwood seem so Sangiovese in a Grosso way. Who knew ’09 Beaujolais could seem so Tuscan.  90

DARK CHOCOLATE GANACHE, chantilly cream, caramel popcorn

Good to go!