Wine – Page 2 – Wine"ing" at the Bend

Swine and Vine Visit September 8, 2018

Swine and Vine is a restaurant in Kitchener dedicated to charcuterie. This new (2018) establishment was profiled in Eat and Drink magazine and, as fans of charcuterie, we decided to try it for lunch on our way to Niagara (OK – I know Kitchener isn’t really on the way to Niagara).

The location is very understated and the decor is a mix of plastic and “recycled” chairs and basic tables. There is a bar with stools. The walls are graced by numerous hand-crafted charcuterie boards.

More importantly, blackboards display the many options for “build your own” boards and the craft beer and wine options.

We chose to build our own – 6 items and two accompaniments. That was enough food for lunch, a dinner and a snack – and it was delicious. Smoked salmon, prosciutto, smoked duck, chorizo sausage, Stilton cheese, smoked cheddar, olives, picked vegetables, caramelized onion marmalade and multi-grain bread.

We couldn’t resist sharing a creme brûlée topped with blueberry compote and an espresso.

That and a couple of glasses of Riesling from Flat Rock in Niagara. We would highly recommend dropping in if you are in the neighbourhood.

Hidden Bench Wine Pairings Fall 2018

Proprietor Harald Thiel and retail manager Meg McGrath rolled out the new wines in the Hidden Bench pre-release Wine Club event. The day was cool and misty so the crackling fire in the stone fireplace on the patio was certainly welcome.

Served while the participants were gathering:

2017 Nocturn Rosé – Tasting Note

At the tasting:

2013 Blanc de Blanc, Zero Dosage (92 pts, Jamie Goode) – a refreshing, just disgorged, sparkling with very fine bubbles (apparently this is achieved through leaving the juice longer on the lees). The pairing was in-house smoked salmon creme on spelt crostini with Canadian caviar and citrus. Tasting Note

2017 Estate Riesling A dry riesling from a vintage that suffered from too much rain but an amazing, unexpected pairing. Upper Canada Cheese Heritage Cheddar and Niagara green apple grilled cheese with spiced apple butter. Never occurred to me to drink riesling with grilled cheese but I will certainly do it again.

2015 Téte de Cuvée Chardonnay (94 pts, David Lawrason) Gold medal winner at the 2018 National Wine Awards of Canada.

2015 Felseck Vineyard Chardonnay (93 pts, Michael Godel) Platinum medal winner at the 2018 National Wine Awards of Canada.

The group did a vote as to which of the two chardonnays was preferred. Blind tasted (as to the award) the majority voted for the Platinum winner. These two wines were paired with an oak-smoked Ontario pork nacken ‘duo’ (nacken was not a term I had heard before but is applied to a specific cut of pork that, unsmoked, is used for pulled pork) with fresh peach preserve and apricot compote.

2016 Rosomel Vineyard Nuit Blanche (93 pts, Jamie Goode) The amount of semillon was upped in this vintage and it is very fruit driven. A turkey wine!! Paired with ‘Turkey Dinner’ schnitzel (turkey, panko crumbs) – Tasting Note

2016 Estate Pinot Noir (92 pts, Michael Godel) This was a warm, dry vintage producing a light coloured pinot similar to a Roussillon. Harald quoted an assertion that “if you can’t read your newspaper through the wine, it isn’t pinot”. In looking up this quote touching on the colour of pinot I fell across quite a fascinating article about “faux” Languedoc-Roussillon pinot noir – well worth the read here. This pinot was paired with a scrumptious roasted, glazed cremini mushroom cap stuffed with pancetta and parmesan gratinée – Tasting Note

2015 Locust Lane Pinot Noir (93 pts, Jamie Goode) – Harald described this wine as “brawnier” relative to the Estate Pinot we had just tasted. Of course it had more age but also more structure and richer colour. Again a surprising pairing – lamb bourguignon with Pinot Noir and pearl onion jus.

2015 Terroir Caché (93 pts, Jamie Goode) This is a blend of 36% Cabernet Franc, 34% Merlot, 24% Malbec, 6% Cabernet Sauvignon.This blend was not made in 2014. Paired with beef short rib braised with Cabernet and black pepper with a suet pastry crumble scattered on top.

Visit to the Iberian Peninsula

Executive Chef, Kirk Weiss, and Head Bartender, Nick Attard, acted as our guides to the food and wine of Spain and Portugal.

We started with congratulating Nick on his successful completion of WSET (Wine & Spirit Education Trust) Level 2. The certificate had arrived that morning.

CONGRATULATIONS, NICK!

Cocktails consisted of tastings of a white and two red Portuguese wines. These were graciously served by Molly Betker.

A colourful menu laid out the six courses we were going to enjoy.

1st Course

A sample plate of roasted fig jam (made that day by Chef Kirk), toasted cashews, broa (corn) bread and Portugues cheese. This was paired with two wines: Macabao Catalyud white wine from Spain and Raimat Rosata, rosé from Spain (cabernet sauvignon and tempranillo)

2nd Course

Grilled sardines marinated in olive oil and Spanish paprika. Paired with Vionta Albariño

3rd Course

Stuffed Portuguese pepper (goat cheese, mashed potato, raisin). These were paired with a Portuguese white Maria Papoila Vinho Verde – 30% alvarinho, 70% Loureiro

4th Course

Portuguese paella – spicy sausage and shrimp. Very flavourful and paired with two reds, one Spanish, one Portuguese. Vaza – Reserva Rioja (Tempranillo) and Dona Matilde – Douro, Touriga Nacional old vines

5th Course

Chanfana. Goat shoulder simmered in red wine for 9 hours! Served in a pastry “bowl” with a dollop of hollandaise on the top. Paired with a Spanish red – Psi 2012, Ribero del Duero, tempranillo

6th Course

Finally dessert – Spanish bread pudding with pine nuts, paired with sherry.

Nick wrapped up the evening with the marking of our “trivia” answers – congratulations to Susan and Chris Knox as the high scorers.

Bubbles on the Bench, i4C Hidden Bench

“A Celebration of Canadian Sparkling Wine from Coast-to-Coast”

And what a celebration!

Hidden Bench hosted a 4-course seafood-based luncheon on the Sunday of i4C (International Cool Climate Chardonnay Celebration) – July 22. The day dawned grey and wet – very wet. We sat in the car watching the prep team running to and fro in the downpour. Finally we braved the damp, registered and joined the reception in the winery. Here, as the skies cleared, we sipped on Hidden Bench 2013 Blanc de Blancs – zero dosage and enjoyed Niagara Gold Gougères and fresh oysters with chopped apple garnish.

Lunch was held on the crash pad of the winery – beautifully set up.

Harald Thiel, Hidden Bench’s owner, introduced the celebrity chefs – each responsible for two of the courses.

Chef Charles Antoine Crête of Montreal Plaza, awarded The Most Innovative Chef – soup and salad dishes
Chef Victor Barry of Café Can Can / Piano Piano, previously of the late Splendido – trout and cavatelli

Meg McGrath, Hidden Bench, demonstrated her passion for food and wine in the superb pairings of the sparkling wines with the four courses.

Tomato Soup and Scallop

This was like no tomato soup you have ever had before. The bowls were served with pristine pieces of scallop and a variety of colourful vegetables topped with dill. The wait staff then poured the soup liquid into the bowls – lightly flavoured of tomato and almost clear.

Bubbles

Blue Mountain Vineyard and Cellars 2010 Blanc de Blancs R.D. (B.C.) – introduced by Christie Mavety – 4 gm dosage

Chateau des Charmes 2014 Blanc de Blancs Sparling Wine Méthode Traditionelle (ON) – introduced by Amélie Boury – 8 gm dosage

Lobster – Salad in a Lobster

This dish was served family style – well, to be shared between two guests. The lobster looked intact, no claws but the body looked uncracked. As soon as it was touched it was apparent that the shell was completely detached from the dish. Absolutely gorgeous. The lobster meat was in a light salad with fresh corn.

Bubbles

Lightfood and Wolfville 2013 Blanc de Blancs Extra Brut R.D. (N.S.) – introduced by Josh Horton – 4 gm dosage

Rosehall Run ‘Ceremony’ Blanc de Blancs Brut (PEC) – introcued by Dan Sullivan – 2.5 gm dosage

Trout Sorrel – Smoked Trout, Hidden Bench’s Eggs

The trout graced a light green salad. The smoking was very light and the trout delicate and moist. Accompanying it in a separate dish were creamy scrambled eggs topped with roe. The texture – a seafood “polenta”.

Bubbles

Hidden Bench 2013 Natur – Zero Dosage (ON) – introduced by Jay Johnston – 0 dosage – 70/30 chardonnay and pinot noir

Malivoire Bisous Brut VQA Beamsville Bench (ON) – introduced by Shiraz Mottiar – 4 gm dosage – 80/20 chardonnay and pinot noir

Mussel, Corn Cavatelli, ‘Nduja, Chive, Belly

A dish that looked like corn gnocchi, mussels mixed in and topped with a piece of pork belly.

Bubbles

Cave Spring N.V. Blanc de Blancs VQA Niagara Escarpment (ON) – introduced by Angelo Pavan – 5 gm dosage

Benjamin Bridge Méthode Classique Brut 2012 (N.S.) – introduced by Alex Morozov – 10.5 gm dosage

Summary

As we departed the crash pad we were intercepted by Harald handing out fresh Niagara apricots as the “dessert”. The sun had come out. A sign of the success of the lunch. If this does become an annual event we would urge those who love good food, wine and camaraderie to put this one in the calendar.

And, to echo Angelo Pavan of Cave Spring, Canada’s sparkling wine can compete with any in the world.

Wining and Dining at RiverBend

Hosted by recent WSET (Wine and Spirit Education Trust) Level One graduate Nick Attard and Executive Chef Kirk Weiss the wine and dine events kicked off for 2018 on June 5. The focus was France – French wine and French cuisine. It was gratifying to see the wine and food appreciation events continue. Previous gatherings had profiled Asia, South America and “landlover cuisine”. Honouring France, the mother country of wine and culinary arts, seemed very appropriate.

Chef Kirk Weiss shared with the participants: “The ability to present this type of cuisine doesn’t happen very often so we are very grateful for that, the whole team, front and back…Without the enthusiasm, the passion, the creativity, the support, the twisted sense of humour sometimes, just the camaraderie we share in the kitchen these events wouldn’t come close…”

1^st Course

Creamy Brie Noisette with a tart berry compote

Wine Pairing – Domane Lafond 2016 Tavel

2^nd Course

Butter seared scallop with fresh picked morels

Wine Pairings – Domaine Gilbert Picq & Ses Fils 2015 Chablis (unoaked) and Domaine Thibert Pere et Fils 2015 Pouilly-Fuisse (oaked)

Introducing the second course Chef Kirk waxed poetic. “We get excited enough doing these dinners but when we get to work with product like the scallops that came in this morning” and fresh morels from a local “forager” who had come across the “motherload of morels” in Strathroy….

Nick provided an overview of oaked and unoaked chardonnay – both wines were Burgundian – unoaked from the region of Chablis and a lightly oaked wine, Pouilly Fuisse.

3^rd Course

Glace de pamplemousse – palate cleanser (and no wine)

Chef commented “We have made a glace taking the liquid, putting it on a sheet pan added grapefruit, mint, a little bit of cranberry to make it even tarter.”

4^th Course

Grenouille (frog leg) croquette with a dill crème fraiche

Wine Pairing – Champagne Delamotte, NV Blanc de Blanc (chardonnay grape)

Chef shared an anecdote from early in his career working at the Empress Hotel – where he prepared this croquette as part of a 15-course meal for a very special guest from France. He promised that it was “not going to taste like the pond …. Wasn’t roadkill either.” He was right – it was delicious.

Nick offered a story about the origin of champagne – might or might not be true. A “lazy” monk decided to ferment the wine in the bottles. Eleven bottles in the case he was bringing as a gift to the king exploded due to the pressure of the “bubbles”. He delivered the surviving bottle to the king who asked where he was from. Champagne – and the king said that this is what this wine shall be known as.

Nick described the champagne process – the riddler who rotates the bottles in their caverns; the yeast being released by removing the cork; the dosage (sugar) being added and the bottles being recorked. He noted that cava in Spain is made the same way, a little sweeter and a great deal less expensive ($20 a bottle).

So we celebrated with a French champagne – a blanc de blanc using only chardonnay grapes. The group agreed that we should drink to Nick – super preparation, great information.

5^th Course

Seared tenderloin with béarnaise sauce and pomme William

Wine Pairing – Chateau Saint-Dominique 2011 Puisseguin Saint-Emilion

Chef introduced this as truly classic French cuisine – demi-glace sauce on the bottom of the plate (beef stock reduced 10:1), tenderloin seared to medium rare, Bearnaise sauce (Hollandaise, tarragon, red onion, red wine vinegar finished with black pepper and parsley)

And Poire William (potato in the shape of a pear) perhaps created by a chef named Escoffier. In an apprenticeship position Chef made 640 for an event – never wanted to see them again – but tonight was a special occasion so why not.

Of course, with the beef, a red wine was poured. Nick explained the Bordeaux difference, that it was based on 1^st growth Chateaus rather than terroir bringing owner/brand name recognition to the forefront. He also outlined the amount of regulation on labelling He said that if you know the regions, know the growers you will know what to expect in the wine.

6^th Course

Classic chocolate soufflé with crème Anglais

Pairing – Courvoisier VSOP Cognac

Chef described this dessert as “Very delicate, time essential to make sure you receive it with the presentation that it needs.” Matthew – a student from Fanshawe – created the dessert.

The noise level, the laughter, the silliness (among the participants) rises by each course – or is it by each glass of wine?

Rumour has it that the next wine and dine event will be later in the summer and feature the Iberian Peninsula – very appropriate timing as a preview of the food and wine from Spain and Portugal for those RiverBenders planning to visit Portugal in the fall.

Hidden Bench Wine Pairings Spring 2018

The Hidden Bench customer-facing team rolled out their new wines in a pre-release Wine Club event – proprietor Harald Thiel, winemaker Jay Johnston, retail manager Meg McGrath, assistant retail manager Maura Casey.

They hit another one out of the park. The pairings were truly innovative. The only thing that would have made it perfection would have been a slice of baguette to sop up the amazing sauces with the mussels and the pork ragout.

Served while the participants were gathering:

2013 Natur, Zero Dosage – paired with Harald’s Upper Canada Cheese Niagara Gold Gougères – Tasting Note

At the tasting:

2016 Roman’s Block Riesling – paired with shaved Ontario pork ‘lard’ on a sourdough crostini with Riesling jelly

2016 Felseck Vineyard Riesling – paired with butternut squash ‘gravlax’ on a sourdough crostini with Riesling glaze

2016 Rosomel Vineyard Fumé Blanc (90 pts, Rick VanSickle) – paired with pistachio and Upper Canada Cheese Nosey Goat crusted schnitzel – Tasting Note

2016 Estate Chardonnay (92 pts, Michael Godel) – paired with grilled cheese with Upper Canada Cheese’s Comfort Cream

2017 Locust Lane Rosé – paired with Moules Provencal (marinated in the rosé) – Tasting Note

2017 Nocturn Rosé – paired with grilled octopus salad with lemon-caper dressing – Tasting Note

2015 Rosomel Vineyard Pinot Noir (93 pts, Rick VanSickle) – paired with chicken and fingerling potato confit with a Pinot Noir and pearl onion jus – Tasting Note

2015 Felseck Vineyard Pinot Noir (91 pts, Rick VanSickle) – paired with slow braised mushroom, tomato and pork ragout – Tasting Note

Part Three – Wineries – Sonoma County

June 20

I shared a wonderful breakfast at the Creekside Restaurant and Bar in the Inn with an elderly woman who had just moved to Sonoma from Arizona. She had owned three restaurants in her life time and suggested some wineries to stop at. Unfortunately all the wineries but one were by appointment only.

B.R Cohn Winery

Bruce Cohn was originally from Chicago and had moved to Sonoma Valley with his parents as a young adult. Bruce was the manager of the famous rock band The Doobie Brothers and the winery had a room full of rock memorabilia and collectibles. The winery was also an olive tree estate as well with over 450 Picholine olive trees dating back to the mid 1800’s.

My tasting here consisted of 5 wines, starting with a Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Franc, Pinot Noir, Zinfandel and concluded on a Cabernet Sauvignon. I also took part in an olive oil and vinegar tasting here which was also amazing and left leaving the winery with a bottle of the Cabernet Sauvignon I tried and as well as a bottle of basil and garlic infused olive oil and a raspberry champagne vinegar.

2016 Sauvignon Blanc, AVA of Sonoma County as the grapes were sourced from other wineries in the region. The wine was aged in new American oak which produced toasted notes in the wine on top of the grapefruit skin smell, with notes of honey dew melon and slight green and Asian pear. Light bodied, slight minerality and crisp acidity gave it a quick finish with a salivating mouth feeling.
2014 Cabernet Franc, AVA of Sonoma Valley as this wine was sourced from grapes grown on the winery’s Olive Hill Estate Vineyard. It was aged in old French oak that must have been charred, as it smelt of charred meat, tobacco and an herbaceous under tone to the fruit characteristics. The fruit was blueberry, and plums. All of these aromas related in the palate with a long finish from the smokiness and ripe plums. It was wonderfully balanced, very enjoyable. This was the only Cabernet Franc I had on the trip and there was no other wine that tasted anything like this one did with the smokiness and fruit coming together to make a wonderful wine.
2015 Pinot Noir, AVA Russian River Valley. Light ruby in colour from the thin skins with aromas of strawberries, black cherries and slight cranberry for fruit. It was aged in old French oak which gave the wine notes of vanilla and slight hints of caramel. The vanilla and caramel came through in the flavours on the palate with slight notes of fruit behind them. It was an enjoyable light-bodied wine.
2014 Zinfandel, sourced from grapes from other vineyards within Sonoma County. This wine was aged in carefully selected French and American oak for 18 months giving the wine some complexity behind its fruit characteristics. The fruit was of red fruit being red berries and cherries, but hints of clove and a spice to it including characteristics of vanilla from the oak gave the wine a long and smooth finish and making it a very dry zinfandel.
2014 Cabernet Sauvignon, estate grown. Full bodied, heavy tannins and flavours of cassis and espresso were present in this bodacious wine. Warm caramel notes and a long finish made this a wonderful pairing wine for any to enjoy with a piece of barbequed beef.

Kunde Family Winery

This winery is an 1850-acre estate operated by the 5^th generation of the original family. This was the only winery in my stops that had old vine zinfandel – planted in 1882 The winery offered tastings of different levels and prices from standing at a bar, to an outdoor lounge, a private seated room all the way to the top of the mountain for a mountain top tasting. The mountain top was where I wanted to go, but due to high levels of production within the winery that day they were unavailable. So to the bar within the winery I went and started my tasting.

Kunde winery was modern with a very large winery/tasting building. The décor including old vines. The lady who served me found out that I was Canadian and it turned out that she too was Canadian. She served me more wines than what should have been included in my tasting. I tasted a chardonnay, sauvignon blanc, Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon, zinfandel (both new and old vines), and a dessert Cuvee which was very similar to a late bottle vintage port.

Zinfandel, new vine, 2014. I learned that was the third year in a row of drought in the region. The wine was fragrant with aromas of blackberries and a barrel toasting. It didn’t taste sweet, but there was definitely ripe and cooked fruit used. After the tasting I was told that small amounts of Malbec were added to this wine to sustain the taste profile that they were after with their zinfandel.
Zinfandel, old vine, same vintage 2014. The wine makers treated the wine in a similar way to the new fine zin but did not blend it with Malbec. A blend of old French and new American oak were used to age the wine. All the flavours and aromas were very similar, but more concentrated, and a longer finish on the palate allowing the flavours to sink into your mind. These flavours were blackberries, slight pepper notes and a feeling like dark chocolate was just in your mouth. Absolutely wonderful and I recommend to any one in Sonoma Valley to stop here and compare for yourself.
Cuvee was wonderful! Sweetness balanced with fruit flavours and just enough acidity to allow some freshness and crispness. It reminded me of a ruby port, and they gave me some salted dark chocolate to enjoy with it. What a pairing.

Chateau St. Jean

The winery is a rather well known one with wines being more mass produced than the other wineries I visited that day. The original owners bought 300 acres of land already planted with grape varieties in 1916. Prohibition occurred during that time they owned the property. A family took over the property in 1970 and by 1973 Chateau St. Jean was founded with the inaugural vintage being 1974. The first vintage when the grapes and wine were all produced on the estate was 1975.

There are two tasting rooms – the first a grand room with a very long and large bar for tastings – the second smaller and dedicated to reserve tasting. I tried a reserve Chardonnay, two Pinot Noirs, a Cabernet Sauvignon, and a blended wine they called Cinq Cepages. I was also lucky enough to persuade a tasting from a very special bottle, a 1992 reserve Merlot.

The pinot noirs varied from a bottling containing grapes from the hillside vines and another only the grapes harvested from the flat land. The ripeness of the fruit differed and the subtle nuances of mushroom and forest floor came from the hillside vines.

The Cinq Cepages was a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Malbec, and Petit Syrah. It was a hot and boozy wine, with gripping tannins but yet wonderful red and dark berry characteristics.

The 1992 Merlot stole the show. This was special to me as, 1992 is my birth year, and this would be, officially, the oldest wine I have tried to date. Tasting a bottle this old isn’t always going to be a good experience as you never know if the wine was stored properly, but being served by the winery, I had confidence that care had been taken in the storage of the wine. It was the colour of an old red brick wall, orange or pale garnet. It was not overly aromatic, the notes were subdued and hidden. On the palate everything was so rounded, balanced. Layers of flavor that felt like one entity. The price discouraged purchase but I settled for the hillside Pinot Noir and thanked the gentleman profusely for the wonderful wine tasting.

California Wine Trip – June 17-24, 2017

To begin my recap of my vacation and wine study, I will inform you, the reader, that I took extensive notes on the wine part of the vacation and lost them all to a mishap with melting ice and non-waterproof ink. My apologies that the notes on my wine tastings are written based on memory – 7 wineries in two days.

So that I don’t tire my readers I have broken my travels into four parts:

Los Angeles and San Francisco
Wine and Dine
Sonoma
Napa Valley, Central Coast, Los Angeles and Home

I hope that my notes and photos capture the essence of the trip.

Unfortunately, I also lost my cell phone at the theme park on the last day of the trip. Thankfully I was able to recover the photos.

I hope these blogs are an entertaining and educating read and if you have any questions about the regions and sub regions I visited, the wineries, or wines or any other part of my trip, feel free to ask me at the clubhouse as I would love to re-live the experience!

Oh, and how could I forget? These were all the wines I purchased, only three made it home, and all of those have been drunk with friends over wonderful pairing meals.

Hidden Bench – a Niagara Jewel

Fall Wine Tasting

We were at Hidden Bench September 16 to be introduced to the Fall offering for the wine clubs. Nine wines were poured.

Harald Thiel (owner), Jay Johnston (winemaker), Marlise Beyers (previous winemaker) and Meg McGrath (retail manager) walked us through the tasting.

2012 Natur – Zero Dosage $45 paired with Niagara Gold Gougerés

2016 Estate Riesling $24.75 paired with Rodney’s East Coast Oyster with a Riesling and Shallot Mignionette

2016 Locust Lane Viognier $32 paired with Guernsey Girl and Sourdough Tartine with a Niagara peach and pepper compote

2014 Felseck Vineyard Chardonnay $39 paired with UCCC Ricotta Gnudi Ammendine

2013 Tête de Cuvée paired with Creamy Mushroom and Hidden Bench Chicken Pie

2015 Nuit Blanche $40 paired with smoked mackerel on a home-made salt and pepper cracker and remoulade

2015 Estate Pinot Noir $30.75 paired with Ontario duck tartare with pinot noir and blackberry reduction

2014 Locust Lane Pinot Noir $48 paired with grilled rib-eye steak cap with outrageously complex jus

2016 Select Late Harvest Gewurztraminer $30 paired with thyme infused Hidden Bench raw honey

The pairings for the wines were perfect – beautifully prepared and presented.

Charcuterie on the Patio

The week before the tasting we stopped in on our way back from Buffalo and ordered the Charcuterie Board – perfect for two. A glass of Estate Chardonnay and a glass of Locust Lane Rosé overlooking the Locust Lane vineyard.