Friday 22 September 2017

September....a wine map all over

Hey Fellow Wino's

It's been a month since my last blog post, can you forgive me? I've been working some overtime, traveling, started the CAPS (Canadian Association of Professional Sommeliers) program at George Brown College and oh yeah, drinking some wine.

Let's get right back into it but let's try and not be too basic ok?


I love September because you can still find some days where shorts, flip-flops and a glass of chilled white are perfect and then other days you can dine alfresco with big sweaters and while enjoying some bigger reds. It's almost the like the perfect month where you can enjoy all the grapes of the rainbow. Tuesday it's chilled Pinot Gris and a T-Shirt, Thursday its a big Chianti with a cozy sweater with that crisp in the air. This month I figured I would focus on what I've been up too and drinking opposed to what I think is a good deal which has normally been my primary focus.

For my 31st birthday, we drank a 2011 Graham Beck Brut sparkling Rose at only $21.95 from South Africa. This bottle is 80% Pinot Noir and 20% Chardonnay and filled with ripe orchard fruit (apples, peaches etc) and some tasty almond/brioche notes. There are still a few bottles in the city so go and celebrate because at the price even cutting your toenails deserves to be celebrated. I'm passionate about accessibility in wine for everyone which is why I chose this bottle for my birthday. You don't need to be a king or queen to live like one!


One of my favorite wineries, Closson Chase in PEC (Prince Edward County) released their 2016 Pinot Gris at $22.95. Keith, the winemaker has displayed his talents well with this wine having the perfect amount of time in Oak. This wine is elegant, balanced and refined. I had notes of pear, some tropical fruit like guava, a bit of pineapple followed by some honey and lush softness imparted by the oak. My rating, buy two! Pssst, Pinot Gris is the French term for Pinot Grigio reflecting the style :P 


It hasn't always been hot out in September because in the beginning of the month we had some Chianti on my sailboat with sweaters and blankets. Check out this 2013 Castello di Albola Chianti Classico at $18.95. This wine needs to be decanted so if you don't have a decanter, let it open up in your glass at least 30 minutes before drinking. This had some of that classic dried cherries, dried leaf, and a hint of some pencil shavings. The reason we decant wine is the same reason a sprinter warms up before being able to reach their peak performance. A wine doesn't roll out of the bottle into a sprint, it needs to open up with oxygen and unfold, allowing you to taste all of its complexity. 


In the CAPS program, we will sample over 1,000 wines through the next year to learn traits of grapes, styles, and regions. Take this complex Reva, Barolo at $59.95 we used to help calibrate our palate. This wine was killer with mocha, caramel, cherry, smoke, earth and a finish that lasted a long time. This is well-made wine hence the price tag. When tasting the wine we use a grid starting with Visual, Nose then Palate. How we learn to taste is not necessarily "this taste has to be a Barolo" but more fill out the grid and that will lead you to the grape and or region. This Barolo had higher levels of acidity, red fruit, and some smoky spice notes so we could narrow that down to "Nebbiolo" grape, aged in oak which gave it those smokey spice notes and probably not too old, maybe 3-5 years because of how fresh the fruit and acidity seemed vs super mellow and aged. Do you want to really know how to know wine? Simply taste, taste and then taste 10 times more. Practice, plain and simple. 


I took a few of my fellow Somm students out for an afternoon wine tour on the water. We had a bottle of "Cremant de Loire" and oysters. "Cremant" is a term the French use for sparkling wine made in France that isn't from Champagne. So Cremant de Loire, Cremant de Bourgogne, Cremant de Bordeaux etc which offer incredible value compared to the all mighty Champagne. Considering they are made in the same method you simply can't lose. I'm talking $15-$30 type value! Check out any Cremant next time you are shopping because I feel we could all use more reasons to drink sparkling wine on a Toronto mortgage beer budget. 




My partner and I headed north to Halliburton where we dined alfresco with my Aunt and Uncle on my first bottle "Crozes-Hermitage". In Europe wine is labeled by the place (Bordeaux, Barolo, Chianti, and Crozes-Hermitage etc) where in the new world wine is usually labeled by the grape. Crozes-Hermitage is a region in the Northern Rhone valley of France using the Syrah (shiraz) grape blended with small portions of Marsanne and Roussanne white grapes. The Syrah grape provides strength, tannin and red/black fruit to the wine while the white (up to 15%) can provide lovely aromatics to the wine and help lift it out of the glass. Paul Jaboulet Aine Les Jalets Crozes-Hermitage 2014 at $26.95. Still a little young and could use another 5 years to soften out but drink it if you must. Notice Syrah is not written anywhere on the bottle...it's because you the consumer should learn that if it's from here, Syrah is the type of grape used. Complicated, you bet but like anything you can learn it with practice. 


Have you ever driven a Ferrari? How about drank one? We cracked this lovely Italian sparkling wine for my birthday when a few friends came over and it was just pleasure in a glass. Fresh fruit, not too complex but left everyone wanting more. Heck at $24.95 its cheaper than a real Ferrari and I'd gladly buy another bottle or two! 


My Friends Louis and Felix had us over to their rooftop for dinner in Roncesvalles where we dined on baked salmon, scalloped potatoes, and a Russian themed beet salad. I bought a Sauvignon Blanc from the Loire Valley "Sancerre" and a Chardonnay from Burgundy. If you pick up a bottle of "Sancerre" you know its Sauvignon Blanc from the Loire Valley in France where if you pick up a bottle of white Burgundy you know it's Chardonnay because of French wine law. The green notes in the "Sancerre" did match the dill notes in the salmon but was still a tad bold for the softer meal. The smoothness of the Burgundy meshed right into the delicate meal so well we agreed it was a better pairing. Check out Louis Jadot Chardonnay from "Bourgogne" at $23.95. The words Chardonnay are on the label so it's clearly advertised to a less knowledgeable wine consumer but for the price, it's quite nice. Remember, if it's from Europe and the grape is on the label its because the winemaker or importer assumes you are an uneducated consumer and unaware that "Burgundy" is either Chardonnay, Pinot Noir or Gamay. Don't worry, in time you'll learn but it starts by getting out there to try new wines! 


My last wine was a 2012 Estate Vineyard Chardonnay by Tawse right here in Ontario at $37.95. My review...On the nose, pear, ripe green apple, little peach, smoke, crushed rock and flint with some elegant baking spices...truly complex. On the palate, ripe fruit like apple, pear, peach with a balanced acidity and a well-integrated use of oak with a steely mineral element. This is complex, balanced and truly well made. Is it sharper than a well made Burgundy...yes but it's a balanced level of boldness I can only comment Bravo Tawse, Bravo. Best Ontario Chardonnay I've tasted! 






Happy Sipping,

Ryan Sullivan 





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