16 posts tagged “merriment”

The food was excellent (roast pig...I bet it was local)) and was even better than last year. Congratulations on a job well done.

How does one get invited to these events. Simple….go to the winery and sign their guest book. You will get on their emailing list and be kept abreast of what is happening. Buy some wine and become friends. What you will get back will be amazing. I have learned so much about wine….taken into the vineyard, eaten wine grapes (not what you would think...they aren’t eating grapes), and getting barrel tastings... really cool.

So when you venture out to a vineyard, you should remember some basic rules.

1)the tasting bar is not a bar. It allows you to try the product so that you can buy what you like. Please respect the server and don’t act like the tool from Sideways who says “hit me”. The tastings are just that. I have witnessed someone doing this heinous act and the server was not impressed. You are there to sample the product, not get drunk

2) If you go in a group call ahead. Many wineries are very small and need warning to prepare. You can wipe out their glassware and really overwhelm them. Basically any more than 6 people requires warning. A bonus for a call is that they may do something special for our group or give you our own wine guide.

3)Remember that many wineries are at their home. Treat the area with respect. Drive slow, park nicely and don’t run over the family pet or child.

4)Buy some wine...they like that

5)Don’t act like you are an expert. Don’t claim to know the winemaker when you don’t. You may be talking to the winemaker….you will look like a tool.

6)Forget the “I only drink wines from Napa” mentality….the local wineries are very proud of their product and “may let you have it” if you give them attitude…..try something new, talk to them with respect. Most of the people I get samples from are very knowledgeable, know more about wine than me, probably own the place and aren’t a $10/hr clerk. 

7)Have fun!!!

It is a nice cozy restaurant and we chose to go to the patio. This we had basically to ourselves which was quite enjoyable as it was nice and cool.

The wine list is very extensive and varied. I would have liked to see more locals but I can’t complain about what I saw. The pricing was fair and we chose a bottle of ViewPoint Auxxerrois for $30.

 The menu has a fair bit of choice but not too much. There was enough variety to keep everyone happy including vegetarians ( a nice curry)…. Why would you go out to dinner to have nuts an berries??? 

Why do restaurants always want to serve everything?? I always get scared when I see War and Peace arrive as the menu, as I just can’t see anyone being able to cook so much without it being re-therm. Here they did it just right...2 pages... all you need….one thing I liked was the steak wellness chart...I just hate being with the “my steak is overdone” or “my steak is too rare” person….here. they would order and shut up...no bitching.

We had the mussels as our appetizer. These were done in a curry sauce and were oh so good. Ample enuff to serve me happily. We just grazed on them.

Mains was pickerel for the both of us. Very nicely done, though Terry felt that the cornmeal batter made hers a wee bit dry. When we finished...her way before me and all was gone. Veg was zucchini peppers and something...hey we were on the patio and it was quite dark which all seemed local fresh and very nicely done.

The bread was wonderful and came with a flavored butter.

Service was excellent, friendly, professional, fun and just attentive right. Not bothering but there...this is good as we were alone and could have easily been forgotten.

All in all a very good meal. The perceived value was excellent as our “specials” were at the going rate for pickerel. This made it a good value.

I am glad we went and we will be back.

Score 85

Summary

cleanliness: excellent

menu: modern American

portion size: just right

food: very good

service: very good

wine list: nice selection 

  priced fairly

could be more locally sourced

value for money: very good

A new winery is starting!!! That’s right. I have it on good account that just south of “the Freeze” grapes have been planted.

Well actually I have 2 vines of Cabernet Franc so in 5 years I will have full production of wine.

Some friends were adding to their vineyard and gave Terry and I 2 vines….very cool. They just don’t look like one would expect. Just basically a cane and a graft on it.

What it will really do is allow me to see how the vines grow and what really wine is about. Maybe someday I can really plant some volume, join up with the Mondavis and make Opus 3, right here in Kingsville. Then I can be a featured villain of Mondo Vino II.

Yes we all can dream.

I am sorry that I am late with this. The storm whacked our internet, then the router has been acting up. I have a new one but Terry is so busy that I am afraid to disrupt the computer to install. I can just see a “problem” when she has 8 shoots to process. Add work, screaming at expressvu on a daily basis...my satellite just slowly died. After 4 hours on the phone to some very nice but totally inept Indian techs I managed to get a Cdn so that I could cancel my account. She was very nice and got me to try again. Well their tech is on the way...yes at 8 am on Father’s Day.  (Later, I was to find out that I was lied to again and the tech is coming next Sunday (this info came from a very nice Indian fellow who really understood just how impressed I am with expressvu))

Last weekend was the series of open houses for the local wineries. Did I organize a trip?? Nope. F&J did so I just went along for the ride. We started out at Sprucewood. I really like the Mitchell’s and this is where F&J had their reception. It is really a nice spot and the drive thru the vineyard is just so nice and worth the trip alone. 

Over the last year or so I have gotten to know Steve and realize his passion for the business. A fellow Engineer, who isn’t in the ‘plastic pocket protector school’ is a wonderful thing to find. Tanya, his sister, is the winemaker. She’s an Engineer too and I think it shows in her wines. They are very consistent thru the line and very orderly. This may be sexist but I feel that they show a women’s touch. The wines are a wee bit lighter and certainly not “over the top”. Judicious use of oak, nice complexity. The line is good. Locally, we are blessed with 3 great female winemakers, Tanya Mitchell- Spucewood,   Lyse LeBlanc- Mastronardi (I apologize for the spelling error) and Izabel Benben- Aleksander. Their work is wonderful. What is really nice is that each has a style and the product is better each year.

The Sprucewood people can put on a spread. Cheese trays, fruit, reasonably priced interesting food and a band. They were really trying and were being rewarded by the amount of traffic they had. The lineup of wine is very nice and we even had dedicated red wine drinkers trying whites….very good indeed. Of note is the Late Harvest Riesling which is very very nice. I prefer Late Harvests to Ice Wines generally as they are not so sweet and are more accessible. We also really like the Chardonnay and the Pinot Rose. 

Then we were off to Erie Shores. They have put up a pavilion which is a great idea. Receptions at wineries are a wonderful thing, but the tent rental prices are very high. This is a good way to avoid that. They had a bus tour in when we arrived so we took over the showroom, Alma was as wonderful as ever and their wines were very well received.

Then we were off to Viewpoint, Their new wines were on display before the entry to the main hall. Let me just say that the future is quite good.

Of course we ended at Muscedere. Fab and Rob do such a good job but they haven't bottled the Chardonnay yet. J&F had left to prep for the party so it was us and Swifty. He likes wine and it was interesting to watch his response. Clean and fresh was what he found. Well the wine was fresh and hadn’t been abused by any angry custom agent or delivery man. Maybe its just good????

The celebration just finished the day. It feels like it was last year not last week. Well my friend from the ghetto of Rochester Hills wants to come visit so we’ll take him east. Mastronardi, Aleksander and Pelee Island. I’m looking forward to that weekend.

Our four combatants were: #1 Sanson Estates Barncat 2004

#2 Pelee Island Meritage 2003

#3 Mastronardi Estates Meritage 2006

#4 Stoney Ridge Founders Reserve Meritage 2003

#1 Sanson: chosen because I really like this wine and wanted a representative from the Harrow/MacGregor area. This wine is great. Balanced and skillful done.

#2 Pelee: this was the first wine that I enjoyed from this area. It was the start of my journey. I really thought this could be the winner

#3 Mastronardi: from the Ruthven area, Mastronardi has been producing some great wines. I was looking forward to this one and had real high hopes.

#4 Stoney Ridge: quite honestly, it was in my wine fridge and thats why I added it. I like Stoney Ridge wines, but Terry and I go there for the cheese shop more than the wines. This is a Reserve series and wasn’t that much (I think). 

Not included: Sprucewood Meritage: very different from a standard Meritage as it is lighter in body. It is still very good, but I felt that it would be too easily identified.

Smith and Wilson Double Barrel. Stylistically similar to Barncat and since I had one non Meritage it was excluded. More than four wines would have been difficult.

Methodology: all four combatants were aligned on the top shelf of my wine fridge the day previous so temperature should have been the same. Cool, cellar temp but not cold nor room temp.

Numbers were applied by Myles while we were in the dining room. Four carafes were numbered, again by Myles so that there was a totally random nature to the carafe/wine interface. All wine was aerated thru my WMF stainless steel aeration funnel. I realize that the carafe may affect the wine. I apologize as I do not have 4 identical carafes, but I tried to keep them similar. Glassware was Rosenthal diVino series. Nothing special but good quality.

The wine was presented and samples were taken at random. The first wine was given a rating of 100 and the subsequent wines were rated relative to this. I gave each wine a score based on each reviewers relative ranking. Therefore a rating of 4 would imply that that wine was rated first by all 4 reviewers. Like golf the lower the score the better. 

Tasting panel. Terry and I as usual. The guests were the suave and sophisticated ones. Both are excellent chefs with extensive wine tastings in Germany and here. Tom loves big reds and rieslings and Carolyn being a pastry chef has a good sense of taste.

When they arrived we had some Pinot Noir (Niagara Teaching College) and appetizers.

Music was fine and causal starting with Yael Naim (she does the Mac song) and then Robert Plant and Alison Krause. Good stuff.

RESULTS:

The results did truly confuse me. I miss-identified all the wines to what I thought the were. All were good and here are some comments.

#1 Sanson: mellow, hints of soil//wine has legs, very fresh fruity aroma, tannic, deep deep berries//dark red, medium body,light aroma//fresh nose, smooth!smooth!smooth!

#2 Pelee Island: mild, pucker power, nice body, acidic// wine has legs, very fresh,fruity aroma,very dry but nice, wee bit lighter than 1//dark red, light body, tangy//great nose, nice legs,very tannic, big and mouth, almost a bitter taste

#3 Mastronardi: citrus aroma, mild flavour, quite different//very dark neutral nose, very mild, not alot of flavour//light red, slight dryness, not much flavour, taste the dirt//beautiful nose!, awesome, so smooth!

#4 Stoney Ridge: full grape aroma, hints of red beet, pungent flavour//rich berry nose, deep red, great legs, very tannic,oak nice, deep dark fruit//mild flavour, fruity, full bodied, light, crystal sediment ( a good thing btw….my note)

RATINGS:

#1 Barncat   9

#2 Pelee Island   11

#3 Mastronardi   13

#4 Stone Ridge   6  WINNER!!

These results do confuse me. The women seem to taste different from the men. There is also a wide statistical variance that implies too much difference from first to fourth. Also the winner was not anticipated beforehand. 

Dinner afterward was roast duck with french beans cooked in duck fat, asparagus and a potato gratin. Carolyn brought an awesome cake for desert.

Now with the meal all the wines went well. Terry went for the Mastronardi while Tom and I attacked the Stoney Ridge. All worked well. So the tasting may have been immaterial. I am not sure. If the purpose was to rate a wine rather than enjoy wine there was clear winner, BUT all were enjoyable.

In the macro sense I don’t think there was a clear winner. I believe wine is a total experience, with food, music and friends. The lack of ‘control’ causes the ratings to be moot. I am confused right now but like the blind methodology.

All in all an interesting event and all had a good time. Isn’t that the point.

We decided to have our 2^nd challenge. If you look back, we tried several Italian reds and were pleasantly surprised. It was amazing to see the quality available in the sub $8 range. After aeration, these reds gave a good showing for themselves.

This challenge is for the white lover. A wine that I certainly love and one I find surprisingly versatile. Gewurztraminer is the wine of choice. From Alsace this wine is luscious, round, spicy and fruity. Food friendly and a wonderful wine on its own.

Test procedure: several potential wines were chosen the day previous and placed in the same shelf of my wine fridge. This allowed a randomness in wine chosen (by our guest  panelists) and avoided any predisposition from myself to choose specific wines in specific order to alter outcomes. Wine glasses were standard white wine glasses...nothing special. 

A control wine was chosen….ie: one which I have known very well and is thought a good sample from the real region. In this case we used Pierre Sparr rather than my ‘ringer’ as two participants do not like my ringer….I just don’t get it but it may be used in part 2. 

Food started with an antipasti platter, then dinner. Dinner consisted of veal rolls stuffed with artichokes braised in red wine and tomato sauce, boiled baby potatoes and a cabbage pie. Dessert was creme brule with blueberries.

Guest testers were Tom and Carolyn. The had just gotten home from skiing after Chicago and seeing the Spice Girls...they claim that they only took their girls and they went to dinner….yeah right!!!! So when they arrived I slapped in a cd of Spice girl music we had downloaded and had Bend it like Beckham on the tv ( sir david and posh make a cameo at the end). Well, Tom disappointed us as he didn’t wear his Posh t-shirt...oh btw we survived all 3 songs. Better music was played thru the night.

Wine #1: Angel’s Gate     It’s from the Bench in Niagara. The winery is simply beautiful. You can see the lake and the vines go down the escarpment. This would imply that the wine has a great chance to be good due to the slopes….like Alsace.

RESULTS: it appears that the nose was well liked by all, but the wine really did not impress. Comments range from: pedestrian to ‘would not buy’.  This is not a good start and I was really disappointed as I always liked this winery.

Wine #2 Niagara Teaching College Well the college is somewhere in Niagara on the Lake, but don’t ask as I got really lost getting there (is that something different LOL!). I was really impressed with the enthusiasm of the students and they were so proud of their work.

RESULTS: The nose was very aromatic. Everyone commented on that. The mouth feel was nicer and it was very fruity slightly light but all liked it. This one is a keeper. The difference between this one and the first was dramatic. This simply is a much better bottle of wine(ok my imput).

Wine #3 Pierre Sparr This is the control wine. From Alsace, it should be the real thing. It is not expensive and I really enjoy this wine. Peppery, fruity, just a good bottle.

RESULTS: All liked it, yet one person preferred the Niagara College wine. 3 of 4 had very positive things to say. Fruit aroma, light taste, tangy, refreshing, mild were the comments. As expected it was well liked. It was assumed to be sweet but it really isn’t. Very well liked.

Wine #4 Mastronardi A favourite of mine. Made down the road across from Colosanti in Ruthven. I find that they make great wine. So the first local wine was making me be very anxious as I wanted it to do well.

RESULTS: All agreed that the nose was wonderful…..floral aromatic ...very nice. One noted that it would be great with spicy( food which is what Gewurtz is acclaimed for) so they ‘hit it’. Another noted that it should have been the dinner wine. Light, floral, clear et someone noted Big Bold so there is personal taste. 

Simply a wonderful wine.  

Wine #5 Pelee Island Reserve This is from the good line at Pelee. If you buy Pelee Island I suggest this range as it is much better than the lower lines. 

RESULTS: Well the results by now may be not as good as early ones but this wine was also universally liked. Aromatic perfumey nose, fruit taste. Results were consistent that the taste was very good and fruity. A well liked wine and after the rave comments for the Mastronardi this wine was well liked therefore it is very good. Being available in the licbo is also a plus.

OVERALL: It appears that the favorites were Niagara College and Mastronardi. Terry loved the College, and our guests were more for the Mastonardi.

What can I say…...I was disappointed with the Angel’s Gate, really liked the Niagara College and always liked the Mastronardi. Can I pick a winner????? Well, I would happily drink Mastronardi ever day, its that good…...but I like Pierre Sparr too and the College and Pelee…...I am so conflicted.

So here are my personnel rankings: 

A+   Mastronardi

A Niagara College, Pierre Sparr (an old friend)

A- Pelee Island Reserve

B- Angel’s Gate

Round 2 is forthcoming and I will use my ‘ringer’ with Mastronardi against the Harrow wines with Smith and Wilson and some more Niagaras. We have a standing invite to some friends from down the Arner so they now have to come. 

 First: Shelley Thrasher and everyone at the Shores of Erie. Shelley runs the demonstration tent. She gave me the opportunity to speak and was wonderful to deal with.

 Second is Terry she has been a real inspiration to me. She and her boy..”the yute” have made my life much better and she inspires me.

 Third: The League of Gentlemen and the Ladies too. They have been very supportive and special thanks to Pete…my agent…who really got this going.

 And finally, some special winemakers who have really enriched my life through their passion for what they do and making it infectious. Special thanks to Rob and Fab at Muscedere, Harvey and Alma at Erie Shores,  George and Mary Jane Wilson  of Smith and Wilson and finally Edie and the gang at Mastronardi. If you guys didn’t work so hard and make such good product it wouldn’t be worth it.

This year Terry and I took my brother and his wife. She has shown interest in the areas wines so we hoped she would like it. Al is into cars...teaches racing actually and since the MG club was there it gave him something too as he ain't a wine guy. Both appeared to have a real good time.

Alma and Harvey are excellent hosts and seem to really enjoy putting on these events. They do it very well and should be a model for the other vineyards. It is unpretentious, adult and casual but it is good where it counts,

They have the MG club for an activity, good food and excellent help.. The music was good and fun..That is, it made me feel like I was at a friend's home and not in church. Everyone seemed to have a casual good time about them. Also they have the parking thing down to a tee. It usually is a disaster but it is very organized. Actually the whole thing is very organized, but in a nice way.

Above all. Terry has taken a liking to MGA's so maybe I can get one. If anyone snickers about buying an old English sports car...I had a FIAT Spider so an old MG is definitely a step up in reliability. It looks so cool too.

The vineyard looks wonderful. The grape bunches look great...green, full, beautiful. Since I am such an expert at growing stuff (I've got my 20 square foot herb farm on my patio) you have it from me that this could/should be a great year. Actually I have that from a couple of vintners that this could be a GREAT year if the weather holds up.

New wines: I tasted 2 and had a couple of glasses, though not enough for a review, but enough to get an idea.

The are about to release a Reserve Cabernet. The 2005 vintage was very good so they held back some and released them now. All I can say is that I liked it a lot. Now I agree with Michael Pincus regarding the fake/stupid reserve wines being released, but this one is a real reserve. Erie Shores tends to sell their wines young so holding this one back a year to me makes it legitimate. It also allows them enter a new market segment while not alienating their present clientèle and to see the turnout they have a lot of clients. A good move to me and it tastes good too!!!!!. I will get me some soon but I am really overstocked.

The second wine was the new Rose... very different from summer sun and in a cool cobalt blue bottle. Looks good and tastes really good. Its light and happy, just like the Summer Sun and compliments it very well. I really liked it and would tell you the name but I can't spell it and Open Office's Spell check isn't that good and jeez I just don't want 50 emails from my 'editors'. But anyhow it was liked by everyone.

Al and Pam left with a bottle of Summer Sun and I am about to open a bottle of their Riesling. Congratulation to Erie Shores for their great hospitality and presenting us with another wonderful afternoon.