deVine Thoughts

Author: Dirk Chan

Hard to believe it has only been since 1986 that Portugal broke the monopoly of the British shippers to start their own export of estate-bottled ports and the Quinta do Infantado (the Portuguese word for ‘prince’) was the first grower to take advantage of the new laws and start shipping to North America. The high altitude (150km) winery is located in Pinhão, on the north bank of the Duro River in the subdistrict of Gontelho with its ‘Class A’ vineyards, where the best port houses are found. Ran by the dynamic João Roseira, vineyard manager and winemaker, along with his sister Catherine Roseira, Chief Executive Officer.

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Author: Dirk Chan

I find as I’m getting older that time moves relentlessly onward faster and faster. The times spent with family, friends and loved ones have to be scheduled well in advance for it to come off at all. However, once in awhile, spontaneity works as last Saturday, my friend Richard Beeken hosted an event at his place in celebration of the return of our friends Macmoud and Jody, who had been travelling the world for more than 3 years. Friends Dean, Wayne, Paulette and myself joined. This came off in short notice, and without much fanfare but what a treat to spend one of the last warm days of summer outdoors.

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Author: Melissa Priestley

Lately I’ve been a wee bit obsessed with wine language – perhaps unsurprising, given my penchant for both subjects.  What set me off this time was reading a tasting note in which the critic described the wine’s aroma as “tannic.” I felt an irrepressible urge to clarify this, as it is totally incorrect.

You can’t smell tannins. Or acid. Or sugar. Or alcohol. Using any of these words to describe a wine’s aroma is wrong, plain and simple (and it marks you as an amateur). These components are only detectable on the palate, as a sensation in your mouth. Certain aromas can make you anticipate a wine to be tannic (concentrated fruit, dark chocolate) or acidic (citrus fruit, vinegar) or sweet (candied fruit, butterscotch), but it is important to note that you aren’t actually smelling these components.

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Authors:

Annabelle Evaristo, Dirk Chan

Our tour in Champagne continued from Bollinger to the equally famous Veuve Cliquot, the Champagne house with the instantly recognizable orange labels. Veuve is located in Reims (pronounced as Ranz instead of Reems) and was founded by the young widow (Veuve) of Francois Clicquot when she was only in her late twenties back in the late 1790’s – the flagship Champagne ‘La Grande Dame’ is of course named in her honor. . She was also the inventor of the famed riddling table which is used to make the wines clear. Our tour was extensive, but in discussions, much to our surprise, we learnt that the ‘La Grande Dame’ only takes a few days to blend (as the fruit all comes from the 8 Grand Cru vineyards) whereas the NV blends will take the numerous winemakers months to find the perfect blend.

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Author: Melissa Priestley

Bottle Shock is a crowd pleaser, and like all crowd pleasers it is mildly entertaining but doesn’t have a lot going on under the surface. It is certainly more akin to an average Gallo Chardonnay than an ethereal Chateau Montelena.

The movie succeeds in maintaining a very broad appeal – oenophiles get to enjoy wine references (including an homage to Sideways with the declaration that the ’47 Cheval Blanc is the “best wine ever made”), while non-enthusiasts get an aesthetically appealing story about 1970’s Californian culture. (more…)

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Authors: Ed Fong, Dirk Chan

Our visit with Christian Dennis, the International Ambassador for Bollinger was a very special day indeed.  Bollinger is one of the leading houses in all of Champagne, with an illustrious history dating back to the 1500’s and one of the few houses that remain family owned. Did we mention we love their bruts? Bolly produces a total of 2.5 million bottles  (versus 20 million produced by Moet of Dom Perignon fame). We all know of Bollinger’s vintage Bruts – Vieille Vignes Françaises, Grand Année and R.D. and the non-vintage Special Cuvée made famous by movie folklore as being James 007 Bond’s favourite bubblie. As we toured the two walled-off plots  of Pinot Noir vines that survived the famous phylloxera attack that go into the ultra-rare premium Vieille Vignes Francaise bottling (the third vineyard in Bouzy succumbed in 2004), we began to get a glimpse of the great history and tradition behind this house. Bruts are still stored in small casks, they are the only house that still employs a cooper, who is responsible for repairing 350 casks per year!

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Authors: Tonia Chrapko, Dirk Chan

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Authors: Ed Fong, Dirk Chan

Eddie and Annabelle’s adventures in Alsace finished with a visit to one of the leading biodynamically certified estates of Domaine Marc Kreydenweiss, the acknowledged rebel of Alsace…With 30 hectares of vineyards, three Grand Cru sites, Marc clearly believes great wine can only come from a vineyard with soil type that places it mark, terroir, minerals and extract. Established three centuries ago,  Marc has ran this estate since the 1971 vintage, and since 1991 the estate has been farmed biodynamically.  

Pictured are two Grand Cru wines we sampled : the 2005 Kreydenweiss Kastelberg Riesling (south-facing single vineyard looks over the small town of Andlau dates back to Roman times, full-bodied, racy, lime & spicy, very ripe and minerally), the 2006 Kreydenweiss Wiebelsberg Riesling (off-dryish star fruit, herbs, smoke, honey and exotic scents).

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Author: Melissa Priestley

Far too much ink has been spilled on the subject of food and wine pairing. While a good match may enhance your enjoyment of a meal, a bad match won’t ruin everything. Be realistic. Is it really worthwhile to stress out, spend an hour in the wine store, try to envision one hundred different wines with your future meal, then go home, discover that the wine doesn’t really match at all, spend the entire night bemoaning the failure, and only later wonder why your partner went to bed so early?

Think about the actual mechanics involved in eating and drinking. Does the food and wine actually end up in your mouth at the same time? Hopefully not, as you’ll likely be left with some unsavory floaties in your glass. Or worse, you’ll choke.

In reality, we eat a bite of food, swallow, and then take a sip of wine. The lingering flavours of the food have maybe a minute to intermingle with the wine and work its magic (or mayhem) – and then a second sip will override all but the most pungent of dishes and it won’t have mattered what you just ate. (more…)