Wine and food are always on the brain. Twenty-four seven. Produce picked from an Ontario backyard will seek out, then effortlessly accrete with Niagara and Prince Edward County grapes. Meats off the barbecue or out of the smoker are rapt to deeply cut, sub-tropical reds, voices possessive of a pantheistic tenor. Here are seven wines and four food ideas to wend pleasure your way for the last two weeks of summer.
Related – Going Rhône for the dog days of August
The grape: Pinot Gris
The history: Fielding Estate’s top tier, Rock Pile Pinot Gris is a benchmark for Ontario
The lowdown: Winemaker Richie Roberts’ second vintage for his estate bottling of the varietal. Seems to be his Alsatian baby
The food match: Butter Greens, homegrown tomatoes, edible flowers and mustard vinaigrette
Fielding Pinot Gris 2011 (251108, $21.95) casts a copper penny penumbra where sweet lime and simple, prickly pear syrup buffets shake and bake. The catalyst tang of pit fruit would see this developing to honey, spice and Madeira, not unlike last night’s Trimbach 2008. My preference is for fresh PG so drink up, with eggs and sausage. Time waits for no one. “Drink in your summer, gather your corn.” 88
The grape: Chardonnay
The history: First planted vineyard in the Edna Valley of California’s Central Coast
The lowdown: A host of under $20 quality Chablis on the market is proof that unoaked Chardonnay is not only viable, but sustainable. California needs to follow suit
The food match: Pan-Roasted Herb, Lemon and Garlic Marinated Chicken, green beans, piri-piri sauce
Chamisal Unoaked Stainless Chardonnay 2011 (289223, $25.95) is an affidavit of California’s agrestal fruit quality and complexity so why more vineyards can’t lay off the manipulations and bottle this style is beyond me. Animated green apple, lime and orange zest are the spark for clean, resolute Chardonnay. Yum. 90
The grape: Riesling
The history: From Germany’s venerable Mosel Saar Ruwer region
The lowdown: Designated Prädikatswein, the highest level of German quality category
The food match: Blue Plate Special: Veal, pork and beef meatloaf with spicy bbq glaze
Dr. Loosen Blue Slate Riesling Kabinett 2011 (160846, $19.95) noses sweet, red apple, wet granite and Dr. My Eyes see a blue hue, like the shadowy, filtered light on mid-winter ice and snow. Meritorious fruit grown out of Devonian seabeds saturates juice before using. Tight grip of acidity and WASP terroir shows there is nothing loose about the good doctor’s Riesling. 89
The grape: Pinot Noir
The history: Dorothée, we’re not in Burgundy anymore
The lowdown: Calera has been lauded for some serious, single-vineyard Pinots. This one is sourced from seven vineyards in San Luis Obispo, San Benito, Santa Clara and Monterey counties
The food match: Grilled Wild B.C. Salmon
Calera Pinot Noir 2009 (933044, $31.95) of wet Pacific clay colour is light and retains a wisp of Central Coast smoke and tar in its profile. No candy factory here, which is a good thing. I’m hopeful the restrained style will help to usher is a new Cal-era for Pinot. Earth shattering bottle? No. Greatest Pinot value? Not so much. Good juice? Absolutely. 89
The grape: Montepulciano
The history: From the Abruzzo region of east-central Italy, not to be confused with the southern Tuscany village of Montepulciano
The lowdown: Two years ago these wines were not even on the radar. Now some of the best <$15> values on the planet
The food match: Barque’s Smoked Beef Brisket
Caldora Colle Dei Venti Montepulciano D’Abruzzo 2009 (289629, $15.95) does not hide the rendering new oak influence to resemble an extra-large cup of Starbucks bold. MD’A of a dichotomous nature, Dominican and birch elegant, arboreal, fruity. Very vanilla. 88
The grape: Aglianico
The history: At its best in Campania but also flourishing in Basilicata and here, in Molise
The lowdown: Arguably the best producer in the newest region in Italy, located on the big toe of Italy’s foot
The food match: Grilled Flank Steak with warm tomato jam
Di Majo Norante Contado Riserva Aglianico Del Molise 2009 (967208, $15.95) is stark, raving modern. A wash of Rothko Black on Maroon colour of “oppressive, almost frightening, grandeur.” Heavily pedimented Aglianico, tasting of black licorice in fiery, Sambuca form. 88
The splurge
The grape: Sangiovese Grosso
The history: Sangiovese of irreverent ilk, from Montalcino in southern Tuscany
The lowdown: Not a sneeze of a price but still of the mortal world. An example for near-immediate enjoyment
The food match: Grilled Lamb Kebabs
Verbena Brunello Di Montalcino 2007 (165126, $37.95) seems at first bewitched by iron and animale but magically gives way to a twinkling, lulu Tabitha nose. A fleeting spell is cast to induce an impulse buy. If you want to experience Brunello, start here, find reverence for its narcissistic beauty and watch it be “turned to a flower.” Supper’s ready and waiting for the Verbena . 90
Good to go!
Godello 