Vinturi, part II

Last night saw us sitting down on the back deck to a wonderfully grilled, lightly seasoned steak with boiled potatoes topped with home-seasoned sour cream, butter and chives alongside grilled asparagus. The beverage of choice was, yes, it's true, a 2009 Fuzion, the near riot-causing (in Ottawa's LCBO flagship store, at least) Argentinian blend of Shiraz and Malbec.

While I would have normally let this one age for a few years, I wanted to see what effect the Vinturi would have on it. Well, my friends, I was once again pleasantly surprised. Pre-Vinturi: a relatively full body, lightly fruity and tannins so intense I almost gagged. Post-Vinturi: still the same relatively full body, but more fruit on the nose and palate and nicely mellowed tannins. The real kicker came when I tried some non-Vinturi afterward... OUCH!

Those of us who are die-hard cellarers will, of course, continue to stock up on wines and see how they age naturally with time. That is, to my mind, one of the great joys of wine. For those of us who can't wait to enjoy that bottle of wine, thank Bacchus/Dionysus for the Vinturi!

To decant or not to decant? Vinturi solves the problem!

People often ask me about the benfits of aeration and how to preserve any wine in the decanter that is not consumed. Aside from the obvious answer -- to drink all of the wine -- I have never known what to say. Who, me, at a loss for words? Yes, indeed, it does happen!

That all changed when Paul gave me a Vinturi wine aerator (http://www.vinturi.com/). From its sleek teardrop shape to its ease of use, the Vinturi is indeed a wonder to use, and a conversation piece to boot!

We tried it with my brother-in-law and his wife on a 2005 Shiraz from Pelee Island Winery (with pizza - one ham and pineapple and the other a combo with mushrooms, green peppers and pepperoni) and were pleasantly surprised at the effect. The fruits were more prominent and the tannins were slightly mellowed. Essentially, giving an already excellent wine just that extra touch that only comes from decanting, but without the fuss -- not to mention the challenge of cleaning the decanter afterward!

No longer does anyone have to wonder how to get the benefits of decanting a bottle of wine in a single glass.

If you try it, let me know what you think!

Icewine - not just for dessert anymore!

... but was it ever, really, *just* for dessert?

The next time you're faced with the decision of which wine to serve with a spicy dish (thai, eastern, middle eastern, etc. or just something you've spiced up on your own), think sweet! The higher sugar and lower acid in icewine are a perfect pair for spicy food because they minimize the effect of the spice and heat on your tender tongue and palate.

Give it a try and let me know how it turns out!

Selling the house calls for champagne!

Yes, my friends, the house in Ottawa is sold. No realtor and no hassles, just an eager and very pleasant couple with charming kids who were in love, I would say, with the house from the moment they walked into our moving sale on April 24.

And thanks to a couple of dear friends who gave us a bottle of Maleta Winery's 2006 Old Vintages Brut Sparkling Wine (VQA Niagara-on-the-Lake), we had a little celebration on Wednesday night.

I have to track down more of this bubbly... it was fruitier than I expected and still crisp and highly acidic. It was definitely not a Dom, and that's definitely a good thing!

Hello, Kingsville!

Finally, almost a year to the day of putting in our offer on 136 Main Street West, we are arrived and (almost) settled. Just a few more (hundred, it seems) boxes to unpack.

A family birthday celebration kicked off our arrival. On the menu? Coq-au-vin with pancetta, pearl onions, mushrooms and herbs served with basmatti rice, carrots and green beans. The coq-au-vin bubbled away for six hours in Pelee Island's 2008 Baco Noir and, naturally, that's what I served with the meal. An excellent pairing for the mushrooms and herbs.

To make matters more interesting, dinner on Monday was a re-creation of the above (leftovers with corn instead of carrots and green beans heated on the stove). I also added some hot sauce to give it a bit of a zing. We enjoyed it with an Alsacian Gewurztraminer which, in spite of the red wine in the original sauce, was a perfect complement for the spicy re-creation.

The moral? Proof that the same dish does not have to be served with the same wine. Get creative and let me know how it works!

Niagara-on-the-Lake and Hillebrand

Thanks to Paul's family, we just got back from an amazing weekend in Niagara-on-the-Lake. Queen's Landing is a great place to stay, with high-class dining and within walking distance of the historical district--lots of shopping!

We enjoyed a wonderful dinner at Queen's Landing on Saturday night and treated ourselves to the "Icewine Dinner Tasing Menu" for dinner at the Hillebrand Winery Restaurant on Sunday night. Get this--we had the *entire* restaurant to ourselves. How cool is that? The food was out of this world: six courses, each paired with wine... I'm honestly still digesting almost 24 hours later, so more details on that dinner will come in a later post.

Thanks again to Paul's family, to the wonderfully attentive staff at Queen's Landing, and to the chefs and our server at Hillebrand for a fabulous experience!

Peller Estates Private Reserve

A wonderful dinner last night of boeuf bourgignon and a Peller Estates Private Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2004 - a mouthful of a title and unfortunately a bit past its prime. Still a wonderful nose and lots of fruit, but a hint of that ready-for-vinegar type of acidity. Not so much as to be unpleasant, but enough to say, "I'm glad I drank this now instead of waiting another six months." So if you've got the 2004, drink away! If you're hanging on to the 2005, I'd dare say it's ready to drink, too, before it starts the downward spiral. Unfortunately, I didn't have a 2005 in my cellar to compare.
Bottoms up!