deVine Thoughts

Author: Dirk Chan

Every year, Wine Spectator, the influential American Wine publication releases their Top 100 Wines of the year. This year was no exception, although the criteria for making the list appears to have changed from
previous years. The focus this year is value driven wines as very noticeable that only a handful of wines on this list is over $100 while the majority are less than $25. Besides value, availability and the ‘X’ factor are the other criteria. However, given that the top two wines of the year have been unavailable for some time now, it almost defeats the purpose of naming the Wine of the Year that no one can get any of. Nevertheless, every wine connoisseur watches with interest to see they can acquire any of the wines..deVine has sixteen wines that made the grade for your attention.

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Author: Ed Fong

deVine Wines is very excited to host a portfolio tasting and fundraiser on Thursday, December 10, 2009. Our store is partnering with Natasha Susylinski of Summit Fine Wines to showcase her portfolio and raise funds for the improvement of our beloved downtown street.

The portfolio tasting will take place between 4:00 PM and 8:00 PM. Tickets are $20.00 each and can be purchased on-line or at the door. Over twenty wines and a selection of single malt scotch whiskey will be available for sampling. Light snacks will also be available.

Four wine tasting stations will be set up to help guide you through Natasha’s portfolio. You can begin at the “No Skins” white wine station, meander to the “With Skins” medium-bodied and full-bodied red wine stations, and finally over to the “Dessert” port wine station. For a complete listing of wines available for sampling that evening, please visit the “Events and Tastings” link on our homepage.

Last but not least, deVine Wines will be pleased to pour you a few drams at the single malt scotch whiskey station.

All proceeds from the event will be turned over to the newly formed 104-Street Steering Committee. The committee is made up of 104-Street business owners, residents, representatives from the City of Edmonton, the Downtown Farmer’s Market, and the University of Alberta at Enterprise Square, the Downtown Business Association and both Ward 4 City Councilors.

The committee’s goal is to promote the cleanliness, safety, security and marketability of 104-Street.

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Author: Dirk Chan

The culmination of a three day Portuguese Festival, this drop in festival style tasting at deVines on Saturday, November 14th from noon to 5pm will feature over 40 different wines offering you a chance to sample a wide range of what Portugal has to offer, from bubbles, to rose, to whites to table reds and of course the famous Ports (various types) to finish. Portugal is currently the old world wine producing country offering the best quality for price ratio (i.e. best bang for the buck), and we will showcase this. There are two other events in this three day festival: On Thursday, the Naked Grape Series: Port, and on Friday the sold-out dinner tasting at Sabor Divino, our annual Roy Hersh Portuguese tasting.

The $15 entry fee will benefit our charity of choice this year, the Alberta Council of Women’s Shelters.

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Author: Dirk Chan

Christmas Arrives early at the Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge – A timeless classic, the 21st annual Christmas in November at the Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge has always signified the beginning of the holiday season for thousands of guests. From November 6th to November 19th – in a series of 4 packages featuring a wide variety of talented presenters ready to teach you all about cooking, decorating, mixology and fashion – everything you need to know to make this Christmas the very best. North America’s finest chefs, decorating personalities and spirit experts will assemble to share their secrets for creating a memorable holiday.

The winners of the draw to attend Christmas in November has been announced, read on..

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Author: Dirk Chan

The 3rd Annual Winter Wine Festival presents ‘Celebrate’, a wine tasting benefit for “The Old Strathcona Youth Coop“. The event is scheduled for Friday, November 6th at deVine Wines & Spirits from 7-9:30pm.

The Old Strathcona Youth Society is a valuable resource for marginalized and disadvantaged youth in the Old Strathcona area. This local charity relies heavily on volunteer staffing to deliver programs and funds raised will help in this regard.

There will be a Silent Auction with many interesting wine items. Please mark your calendars and join us.

Tickets available now at deVines for this festival style event.

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Author: Dirk Chan

Wow, time flies…Thanksgiving is just around the corner, so here is our annual picks to accompany the classic turkey and ham dinner and all its fixings. Start your evening off with a sparkling wine, followed by whites, reds and finally ending with a dessert wine.

Sparkling wines are a great way to start any function whether its a greeting aperitif or to pair with appetizers. Here are three very different recommendations: The Canella Prosecco di Conegliano from Italy is both well priced and delicious with lively citrus notes and delicate bubbles. The unusual Cabernet Franc based sparkling red from Chateau Langlois Carmin Dry
from Chateau Langlois in the Loire Valley can work with meat based appetizers or for the adventurous used in conjunction with the roasted turkey as well – the foamy red notes go great with the cranberry sauce. For those who want the best, a couple of recommendations in French Champagne – the NV de Sousa Zoemie Brut Merveille is rich and generous with the toasty bread notes while the vintage dated 2000 Dom Perignon is world renowed and certain to impress.

Whites with a touch of sweetness is preferred because of the sweetness of some of the fixings – candied yams, cranberry sauce, and honey for the glazed ham. A completely dry white will seem more austere and void of fruit due to the sweetness of the food so I recommend Rieslings, Gewurztraminers or other Germanic or Alsace varietals.

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Author: Dirk Chan

Many of us pair food and wine together, and I often find that the most stunning pairing of the evening can be the last course: dessert. Stickies, or sweet dessert wines are often relegated or dismissed when it comes to food & wine pairing and that is an opportunity lost for discovery. I have a sweet tooth myself, and often this is the first thing I pair up when planning a dinner menu. You don’t have to go to great lengths with this, sometimes a dessert wine like French Sauterne can be dessert all by itself, to be sipped with some blue cheese. There are the usual pairings: Ruby Port and Stilton and assorted nuts, Tawny Port and Creme Brulee but here a few of my true and tried favourites: Sauterne and a ripe Phillipino mango, Callibaut chocolate fondue and Tannat, Chenin Blanc and fruit flan or fruit salad,

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Author: Dirk Chan

It’s hard to believe summer took its sweet time arriving. I’ve hardly drank any reds the past month – instead whites, rosés and especially sparkling wines all seem to hit the spot for sitting out on the deck, or hosting a backyard party with friends and relatives. When the ambient temperature is hig,  a big bold red can taste alcoholic, meanderingly big and overblown whereas a sparkling wine tastes refreshing and light, gentle and enticing. Not surprisingly, they can pair with any course of food you care to throw at it: certainly for appetizers, but amazing versatile with light meats like fish, chicken and even pork. While Champagne is getting very expensive and more and more left for major celebrations, there are many great values in sparkling wines from all over the world that allow us to enjoy a sparkler without breaking the bank. Here are a few recommendations: (more…)

Author: Dirk Chan

It’s not often you have a chance to meet a wine label designer, yet alone one from Edmonton. It is our great pleasure to welcome our friend and local artist Ramsey Dziubiak to deVines for an afternoon of Art and Wine this coming Saturday between noon and 4pm. Ramsey is a well-known artist whose works has been on prominent display at our store since its inception.

Ramsey paints with brilliant coloured oils on fine Belgian linen and his pieces are unique in that they may be displayed in both traditional and modern décor – timeless motifs are carried throughout his works which has garnered international attention. The pieces reflect his life; the triumphs and failures, the excitement and ennui. Currently, his works hang in the houses of many private art collectors in Toronto, Vancouver and Edmonton.

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Author: Dirk Chan

The hottest wine gadget of late has been a class of accessories called ‘wine aerators’, the selling point being it will make your wines taste better. The concept is not new, it is exactly the same as a decanter, premature aging of the wine via oxygenation. The difference is in the packaging. The decanter process involves slow pouring of the wine into the vessel taking care not to mix in any sediment and using the large surface area to expose the wine to air thus (hopefully) leading to a better aromatic profile for the wine due to the ‘opening up’ process.

These ‘wine aerators’ do the same thing except in a smaller package. They aerate as you pour the wine into your glass or decanter thus fulfilling our society’s current fad for immediate gratification. There is a vessel or bowl like surface area to pour the wine into, there is the gurgling nose as it throws the wine around in this reservoir to aerate it before being letting it into your wine glass or decanter. All this happens in a matter of a few seconds (as opposed to twenty minutes in a decanter alone) and voila you have a wine that is ‘ready-to-go’ and ‘singing’.

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